The Life on the Farm-Ag Festival was held in Bloomfield on April 28th at the Harm and Tulleys Event Center.
Approximately 320 students in 3rd and 4th grade from Knox and Cedar counties attended.
A new session added to the event this year was the Ag Innovators program, ‘Unlock Ag Innovations Challenge’, which explores how farmers must continue to innovate, learn, and adopt new technologies to grow more food in a sustainable manner. Local high school youth were trained in facilitating the challenge and led this session, the facilitators were: Karli Bruning, Hartington; Taylor Nilson, Creighton; Kayla Key, Creighton; and Chloe Hanzlik, Niobrara.
Travis Schumacher and Blake Byerly from Bloomfield teamed up to provide great information about the different types of machinery and their uses on a farm. Grossenburg Implement provided machinery.
Kaitlyn Byerly of Bloomfield along with her family gave a presentation on goats and even brought fainting goats! They also featured goat yoga as a stress management tool.
Did you know that pigs dig in the mud because they do not sweat? Mariah and Piper Dather both from Crofton enlightened the 3rd and 4th grade students about swine production as well as showing swine at the fair.
Beef production is a huge industry in our region and Maddie Ziegler along with her family of Bloomfield brought in their Hereford cattle and presented great information about beef production.
Roger Sprakel of Crofton brought in a dairy cow from his farm. Each student had the opportunity to learn where their milk comes from. Roger also spoke about other products that were made from milk.
Hanna Hake with Farmers Pride explained to the youth how corn and soybeans are a big part of the agriculture industry in Nebraska. Hanna showed the youth how the plants grow in our Nebraska soils.
A hands-on soils demonstrated featured the different soil types in Nebraska complete with allowing the youth to feel the textures. This session was led by Leslie Johnson, Nebraska Extension Educator.
Each student left the festival with Life on the Farm knowledge and a bag full of information and activities provided by Nebraska Extension, Knox County Farm Bureau Federation, Bloomfield FFA Chapter, Crofton FFA Chapter, Verdigre FFA Chapter, Creighton FFA Chapter, Grossenburg Implement of Bloomfield, Nebraska Pork Board, American Lamb, Midwest Dairy Association, Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation, Lewis & Clark Natural Resource District, Nebraska Beef Association, Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Nebraska Wheat Board, Nebraska Corn Board, and Nebraska Sheep & Goat Producers.