Ag’s pizza party
John Schlageck
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Looking at the world of agriculture through the eyes of a fourth grader, one word comes to mind — BIG.
For those 700 students fortunate enough to attend the Ag Day Pizza Party, that means a BIG building, BIG displays, BIG slices of pizza and really BIG tractors and other equipment — all used to produce the ingredients that go into pizza.
Held in conjunction with the annual celebration of national Agricultural Week, this year’s pizza party is slated for Tuesday. Site for this year’s event is the Ag Hall of Fame near Kansas City. This year marks the 14th time for the Ag Day Pizza Party.
It’s difficult to imagine children from the city immersed in the world of agriculture. Like so many of their parents and others from urban environments, most youngsters believe pizza and other foods they eat come from the grocery store.
Few understand farmers and ranchers across Kansas help provide almost everything we eat, use and wear on a daily basis. Few also know agricultural crops fuel their parents’ vehicles.
Today more and more Americans are moving farther and farther away from production agriculture. A classic example of this occurred during the early years of the Ag Day Pizza Party when students often asked for “vanilla” milk, i.e. white milk. These youngsters thought milk came in chocolate or vanilla.
In an effort to help them better understand how farmers and ranchers provide the materials that go into their food, groups of approximately 14 students rotate through educational stations set up by the Kansas and Missouri beef councils, corn growers, dairy organizations, pork producers, soybean associations, vegetable growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.
Kansas and Missouri Farm Bureaus help sponsor this event each year and provide classroom materials for use during National Agriculture Week, which was March 15-21. Four Farm Bureau counties of Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte helped fund this year’s event.
In past years, the students’ enthusiasm, energy, sense of awe and willingness to soak up knowledge at this learning event was inspirational. Most listened attentively. For others, it was an eye-opening experience.
Once the children finish with the educational part of the event, they feast on the tasty food they learned about. What better way to capture a child’s attention than to use his or her favorite food for an illustration?
They also have the opportunity to understand the essential role agriculture plays in maintaining our nation’s economy and learn to appreciate the role this industry plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable food products for them and their families.
Although the fourth graders probably won’t remember exactly how many bushels of wheat, corn or livestock are produced on Kansas farms each year, they will take away something even more important — a new understanding of the foods they eat and the number one industry in Kansas — agriculture. For most, they take home the lesson that the foods they love to eat are produced on the farms across Kansas.
• John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.