{"id":922,"date":"2025-12-10T11:49:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/?p=922"},"modified":"2025-12-10T11:49:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:49:20","slug":"claxton-elementary-students-discover-the-importance-of-agriculture-at-annual-ag-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/2025\/12\/claxton-elementary-students-discover-the-importance-of-agriculture-at-annual-ag-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Claxton Elementary Students Discover the Importance of Agriculture at Annual Ag Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2025\/12\/AG-Day-Evans-2025-Chicks-1-768x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-924\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2025\/12\/AG-Day-Evans-2025-Chicks-1-768x1024.png 768w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2025\/12\/AG-Day-Evans-2025-Chicks-1-225x300.png 225w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2025\/12\/AG-Day-Evans-2025-Chicks-1-1152x1536.png 1152w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/files\/2025\/12\/AG-Day-Evans-2025-Chicks-1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Claxton Poultry Farms Service Technician Matt Smith talks with elementary students about baby chicks during the hands-on poultry education station at Ag Day. Students learned about chick care, nutrition, and poultry production while observing live chicks in a brooder setup.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Approximately 750 students from Pre-K through fifth grade at Claxton Elementary School spent Wednesday, November 19, 2025, learning just how important agriculture is to their everyday lives during the school\u2019s annual Elementary Ag Day. Students rotated through hands-on stations where they learned where their food, clothing, and many everyday products come from and how agriculture influences the local and state economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This program is a major partnership effort between the Evans County Extension Office, Evans County Farm Bureau, Evans Region College and Career Academy, Evans County School Nutrition Program, and the Evans County Board of Education. Each of these organizations played a significant role in planning and delivering station activities, securing presenters, providing educational demonstrations, and helping students make real-world connections to Georgia agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ag Day requires months of preparation and dozens of volunteer hours, but the impact is worth it, according to event organizers. \u201cAgriculture is Georgia\u2019s number one industry, and it is also the backbone of Evans County,\u201d said Ross Greene, UGA Extension Evans County Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent. \u201cHelping students understand that agriculture touches their lives every single day, from the clothes they wear to the food on their plate, is an investment in the future of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bo Eason, Chairman of the Evans County Board of Education, also attended several of the stations during the event. \u201cThis event was phenomenal. It is nice to see the students learning about what agriculture is and how it is important to us all. I even learned some things myself from attending a few of the stations,\u201d Eason said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Students rotated through stations in grade-level groups, with kindergarten through second grade together and third through fifth grade together. A shortened version of the event was also offered for pre-kindergarten students to introduce basic agricultural concepts in an age-appropriate way. Students spent about 12 minutes at each location where presenters provided hands-on demonstrations, interactive lessons, and real examples of how agriculture impacts their daily lives. In addition to the educational stations, all students enjoyed a hayride around the school grounds, allowing them to view farm equipment and talk with local agricultural leaders along the way. Stations included the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tractor Supply Company<\/strong> \u2013 Planting seeds and learning how plants grow.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Cotton Commission<\/strong> \u2013 Feeling raw cotton and learning the importance of cotton to Georgia\u2019s economy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Peanut Commission<\/strong> \u2013 Learning about how peanuts are grown, processed, and their importance to Georgia agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Wildlife Resources Division (DNR)<\/strong> \u2013 Exploring wildlife, native species, and how wildlife affects agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Evans County Public Fishing Area (DNR)<\/strong> \u2013 Learning about native fish and aquaculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Harvest of the Month and School Nutrition<\/strong> \u2013 Learning about Georgia-grown foods and tasting sweet potato muffins that were prepared by the culinary program at the Claxton High School.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Forestry Commission<\/strong> \u2013 Meeting Smokey Bear and learning about forestry equipment and forest management.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Magnolia Midlands GYSTC<\/strong> \u2013 Understanding pollination and the importance of honey bees to food production.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Claxton Poultry<\/strong> \u2013 Seeing baby chicks and learning about Georgia\u2019s poultry industry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission<\/strong> \u2013 Discovering how soil and water support agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agriculture Equipment<\/strong> \u2013 Exploring tractors and farm machinery used to produce food and fiber.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Petting Zoo<\/strong> \u2013 Observing livestock and learning about animals used for food and fiber.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Farm Bureau<\/strong> \u2013 Learning about beef cattle and how Farm Bureau supports local farmers and agricultural families.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Butter and Dairy Station<\/strong> \u2013 Making butter and learning about Georgia\u2019s dairy industry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Georgia Department of Agriculture<\/strong> \u2013 Learning how the department protects Georgia farmers and consumers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event concluded with a live hay baling demonstration, where local farmer Luke Thompson baled square bales right on campus, giving students a close-up look at modern hay equipment and how livestock feed is produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evans County is home to a diverse agriculture sector, including cotton, peanuts, poultry, forestry, beef cattle, Vidalia onions, pecans, watermelons, corn, and more. According to the most recent Georgia farm gate value report for Crop Year 2023, Evans County agriculture generated 85,295,658 dollars in economic value. Agriculture remains one of the largest economic drivers and employers in the county, contributing directly to local jobs, agribusinesses, and Georgia\u2019s statewide agricultural economy. Vidalia onions, Georgia\u2019s official state vegetable, are grown only in a federally designated production area located in southeast Georgia, which includes Evans County as part of this unique and world-famous growing region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Organizers say agricultural literacy is becoming more important every year. \u201cMany students are several generations removed from production agriculture,\u201d said Greene. \u201cEvents like this help reconnect our youth to the farms, natural resources, and food systems that support our community and our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Evans County Ag Day Planning Committee would like to thank all presenters, teachers, volunteers, community partners, and sponsors for helping make this event possible. Together, these partners provided approximately 750 students with meaningful agricultural literacy experiences that highlight the importance of Georgia agriculture and the essential role farmers play in our daily lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Approximately 750 students from Pre-K through fifth grade at Claxton Elementary School spent Wednesday, November 19, 2025, learning just how important agriculture is to their everyday lives during the school\u2019s annual Elementary Ag Day. Students rotated through hands-on stations where they learned where their food, clothing, and many everyday products come from and how agriculture [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-ag-awareness-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":925,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922\/revisions\/925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/evansag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}