ARGILLITE — The farm came to the schoolhouse on Friday at Argillite Elementary School.

Students, who have spent weeks learning about agriculture, farming and food production, were treated to the first-ever Agriculture Field Day, which has been five years in the making.

There were tractors and bees, hayrides and vegetable gardens, historical re-enactors and a fully milkable, fiberglass cow in addition to a host of other agriculture learning stations.

“Milking the cow was very tough," said Gracie Billups, a first-grader. Billups, who lives on a farm, with “pigs, goats, horses, cat and a dog” said the day was “really fun.”

 Classmate Lucas Reeves liked the bee exhibit best, where 4H agent Aaron Boyd talked to the children about bee-keeping and honey production. He even brought a glassed in section of a hive with him for students to see.

“My favorite part was when we saw that man with all the buffalo horns and skinned animals,” piped up fellow first-grader Logan Allen Leadingham, noting he’d like to go back in time to the pioneer days. Tony and Sarah Boyd, dressed in period costume, were on hand to discuss how agriculture took place in Kentucky during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

“I learned that every kind of fruit and vegetable come from plants,” said Annabelle Imel, a third-grader. The hay maze, was another highlight.  “You could go under three tunnels and find your way out,” she added.

The event was a collaboration between the Kentucky Farm Bureau, UK Cooperative Extension Service, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, Little Caesar’s Pizza, Greenup County Schools system and a host of other volunteers and organizations, who brought the hands-on agriculture exhibits to Argillite. It was the rollout of what officials hope to grow to a regional agriculture program,  “Mooving Agriculture Forward,” which utilizes a new mobile classroom recently purchased by the Greenup County Kentucky Farm Bureau.

“The ultimate goal is to teach the kids about agriculture,” said Kenny Imel, president of the organization. “The reason we designed this is to get to the kids and let them know what farming is all about. It is more than just cows and corn and hay. It is an everyday lifestyle. Everything they eat and do is tied to farming and they don’t realize it. Farmers are now less than 2 percent of the population of the U.S,” Imel said.

“They have to have agriculture to live. Most kids are so removed from the farm now, they think you go to Walmart and get your peanut butter off the shelf,” he said.

The classroom will travel to the Greenup County Fairgrounds next Friday. There it will host another Agriculture Day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., when fourth graders from across the county school system will visit. Then every three months, the classroom will travel to a different school.   

“Our longterm goal is to help educate eastern Kentucky, not just Greenup County,” said George Hieneman, area 9 and 10 district program director with KFB.

Kentucky Farm Bureau CEO David Beck was also on hand for the inaugural event, which was being filmed by the agency to use as model for potential programs across the state. “This is a great opportunity for those in agriculture and education to work together to help tell the story of agriculture, how important it is to our economy, and also our diets and the welfare of this country to produce our own food,” Beck said. “What Greenup County is doing here today is beneficial here, but it will be beneficial across the state.”

CARRIE STAMBAUGH can be reached at cstambaugh@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.