Perry, GA |

For the second year in a row, kids coming through the Georgia Grown building at the Georgia National Fair got the chance to be a part of a unique educational experience known as the Georgia Grown Classroom – a small, learning center that was meant to expose elementary school aged children to agriculture and did so with a variety of lessons and activities.

“One of our department’s priorities is to promote the next generation of ag leaders and this fits right in with that priority because we’re bringing in elementary aged students and getting them exposed to Georgia agriculture in different ways by different entities. We have students coming in from different colleges talking to students, we have Farm Bureau coming in and talking to students as well, and then different divisions within our department are actually coming in and talking about food safety, pest management, pesticide safety, and things like that. So this is just a really great way to not only tell Georgia’s story of agriculture, but to also promote that next generation of ag leaders,” says LeAnna Merritt with the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Throughout the ten days of the fair, numerous groups and industries got the chance to lead some of the sessions, and Georgia Farm Bureau was certainly no exception as volunteers from different parts of the state came together to hopefully give the kids an impactful perspective on Georgia’s sheep industry.

“What we’re doing today is just so important. The kids are already excited coming out to the fair, getting to see so much, but a lot of these children have never been exposed to the different types of agriculture that we’re able to provide from Georgia Farm Bureau. We all have different knowledge, and we all come from different backgrounds, and by joining together and being able to provide this 45 minute class today, I feel like they are at least going to take home something that they did not know and it may spark an interest to go down a different path, whether it be raise livestock or maybe become more interested in learning some of the different skills to raise livestock,” says Stephanie Branch, Georgia Farm Bureau’s Women’s Leadership Committee Chair.

The dividends were two-fold as GFB not only got the chance to interact with students, but the opportunity also gave them the chance to speak with teachers and fill them in on all the ways that Farm Bureau can help them promote ag in their classrooms.

“This is an opportunity for us to talk to students from who knows where. So, we’re getting a diverse population. We’re able to also interact with teachers. So, we created teacher bags for the school to take that with them that has books based around sheep and knitting, how those wools are dyed to be used for scarves and things like that. So, in our outreach, it’s not just for the students, but for the teachers as well to let them know what is AG in the classroom and what is Farm Bureau. Get to know us a little bit more to be part of the organization and help us continue our mission to educate anybody about agriculture,” says Lauren Goble, GFB’s Educational Programs Coordinator.

By: John Holcomb