The “Farm Fair” is a continuing education program for fourth grade elementary schools students conducted as an all-day, 300+ students each day for three (3) days, on-ranch site location offering students, teachers and school administrators lessons about agriculture production, economics, soil science, animal science, environment management and exposure to careers in agriculture related fields.
“Farm Fair” is conducted annually by the Gallatin Valley Agriculture Committee, made up of volunteers representing agri-business, natural resources conservation, and education in Gallatin County. “Farm Fair” is administered entirely by volunteers, including ranch employees.
Professional people, in each field represented, staff fifteen-minute stations. Sixteen (16) Group Leaders are assigned to individual groups of 20+/- students, and rotate their assigned students through each of the stations throughout the day. Curriculum stations are:
- water cycle
- bees/pollination
- weeds identification
- irrigation/soil conservation
- forestry
- beef cattle
- dairy & milking cow
- dairy goats/cheese
- sheep (ewe to you)
- Gallatin Valley crops
- safety
- making “tin can” ice cream
- pleasure horses
- pigs
- potatoes
- 4-H
- story of wheat (field to table)
- draft horses
Demonstrations include wagon rides into an adjoining field explaining soil conservation, crop rotation and a working irrigation system. A free lunch is provided each day. Curriculum is reviewed annually to offer the most valuable education possible.
Pre-event and post-event classroom material is provided each attending student and teacher.
An on-site First Aid station, staffed by paramedics, is provided by Central Valley Fire Department.
The mission of the Gallatin Valley Agriculture Committee’s “Farm Fair” is to provide a rural ranch atmosphere where students and teachers have the opportunity to see and touch where our basic food supply originates, how it is prepared for processing for human consumption, and to demonstrate agriculture’s commitment to protecting the natural resources on which it depends.