Fleming County celebrates Agriculture Appreciation Week

A parade of tractors makes its way through downtown Flemingsburg.

Last week students in Fleming County had the opportunity to learn more about the essential role of agriculture and how it meets their basic needs and enriches their lives economically, environmentally and socially.

From kindergarten to high school, students came away with a better understanding of how food, fiber and renewable resource products are produced as they participated in different hands-on projects during National Agriculture Appreciation Week.

To help equip Fleming County teachers with lessons and resources for their classrooms, the Kentucky Agriculture & Environment in the Classroom, the Kentucky Innovation Network, Kentucky Farm Bureau, and the Fleming County Cattlemen’s Association, organized a workshop with the theme, “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day Teach a Man to Fish and You Feed Him for a Lifetime”.

The workshop featured Dr. Lou Hirsch (University of Kentucky), Darlene Horton (retired award-winning elementary teacher), Scott Christmas (KFB), as well as Jennifer Elwell and Rachel Wilson from Kentucky Ag in the Classroom.

During the Health Fair held at Simons Middle school, organized by Fleming County Resource and Youth Center and Adam Hinton, high school students presented information on internet safety, as well as the effects of drugs and alcohol.

The Health Fair also provided a variety of health and safety related topics through hands-on activities. Students heard from Molly Matney, Miss Kentucky 2017, as she spoke about being successful by eating right, exercising, working hard and having fun during the “Farm Fit” assembly held at Simons Middle School.

High School students taught second graders how to make their own butter while the fifth-grade students learned how to make beeswax and soybean lip balm while visiting the mobile science lab at Ward Elementary.

The kids in grades 3 through 6 at Hillsboro, Flemingsburg and Ewing spent some time examining various animal parts in the University of Kentucky’s mobile Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and Mobile Science Center.

The week-long celebrations grand finale was the annual tractor parade as over 200 farm implements rolled through downtown.

After the parade a student-led Town Hall Meeting took place at the FCHS Library where a panel of state, regional and community agriculture government leaders discussed leadership and agriculture.

The annual Fleming County Schools Day of Service Breakfast was held on Saturday at the Kentucky Welding Institute and wrapped up Agriculture Appreciation Week.

The service breakfast is an annual event that helps students learn respect, responsibility, integrity and servant leadership.

Matt Ingram from Kentucky Farm Bureau reminded students during breakfast they will always succeed if they work hard, be true to themselves and their moral compass, and learn to serve others.

Students went on to perform community service throughout the day around the county.