Media Photo Opportunity - Urban Ag Day will Connect Field to Fork for Urban Third-Graders

ST. PAUL, MINN. (05/09/2016)(readMedia)-- Minnesota State Fair organizers are partnering with Minnesota FFA and local agriculture commodity groups to connect food back to farms for urban third-graders. More than 1,300 Minneapolis and St. Paul Public School students will experience Urban Ag Day 2016, a field trip event designed to teach kids that food does not come from the grocery store or refrigerator, but from farmers and their fields. The day includes an up-close look at live animals including swine, beef and dairy cattle, dairy goats and sheep. Third-graders will also meet with farmers who will answer questions about modern farm machinery. Then, guided by rural FFA youth leaders, students will experience several agricultural education stations, each with a unique learning take-away:

• Farm to Fork (how the cheeseburger becomes lunch)

• Feed the Cows (what cows eat and how their diet is similar to the human diet)

• Ready, Set, Grow! (growing food in your own garden)

• Wet & Wild Water (how the water cycle works)

• Busy Bees (a lesson on the importance of pollinators)

• The Amazing Soybean (the versatile crop and what it's used for)

Event Details:

Wednesday, May 11

Photo Opportunity: 10-11:30 a.m.

Minnesota State Fairgrounds Warner Coliseum on Judson Avenue

Special Thanks to Urban Ag Day Partners:

AgCentric

Ag Country Farm Credit Services

AgriBank

Dassel-Cokato FFA & FFA Alumni

Glencoe-Silver Lake FFA

Midwest Dairy Association

Midwest Machinery John Deere

Minnesota Ag in the Classroom

Minnesota Beef Council

Minnesota Corn Growers

Minnesota Dairy Goat Producers

Minnesota Lamb & Wool Producers

Minnesota Pork Producers

Minnesota Turkey Growers

Morris Area FFA

Stevens County FFA Alumni

University of Minnesota - College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

West Central Cattlemen's Association