Agriculture Day yields good turnout at college

By Ry Clarke - for the Lethbridge Herald on March 24, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Lethbridge College hosted an Agricultural Day event spreading awareness in the community with hands on experiences, including a chance to meet farm animals such as this young goat.

Lethbridge College’s Aggies Club celebrated Canadian Agriculture Day on Tuesday showcasing to the community all things agricultural on campus while hoping to promote awareness in the community.
The event encouraged residents and students to come down and explore agriculture at the college and learn more about how the program works. Participants were able to interact with various equipment and machinery used in the field, along with a chance to get up close with farm animals, like goats and cattle.
Event organizers Emma Knodel, president of the Lethbridge Aggies Club, and Sadie Wauters, vice-president, came up with the idea for the event when thinking of ways to raise awareness for the industry and the program while also showcasing the impact agriculture has on the Canadian economy.
“We quite literally have our boots on the ground every day out producing food for people. So, if they ever have any questions, come talk to a producer. You know, get that firsthand knowledge or information.”
Knodel says the event brought awareness to the importance of agriculture’s involvement both locally and nationally.
“Our peers that maybe aren’t from farms or aren’t involved in agriculture as much as we are. It’s a good opportunity for them to come out, and lots of them haven’t seen the equipment or been anywhere near a cow before.”
Wauters hoped the event would help close the gap between rural and urban cultures.
“Everything in life revolves around agriculture. From the food you eat, the boots you wear, and the football you play with. Everything revolving around agriculture.”
She hoped to give the community a chance to come down and ask questions and learn more about an important industry in Alberta.
Knodel and Wauters were pleased with the turnout for the event, “This is the largest Canadian Ag Day event our club has ever held. It was pretty great.”
Lethbridge College offers many Agriculture Science programs along with a Bachelor of Agriculture Science program. Students learn with real world businesses and producers across the province.
“We’ve gone on field trips to look at crops in the field and learn with growers about the equipment that they run and the crops that they grow. We’ve gone and we helped harvest potatoes, which was something that I probably would have never got to experience if it wasn’t for this,” said Wauters, who notes the program gives a hands on experience that allows students to enter the workforce with a stronger knowledge base.

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