From the food on our tables to the clothes we wear, agriculture touches our lives every single day. This week, fourth graders across San Patricio County got a closer look at how it all works at the San Patricio County Fairgrounds.
Instead of learning from a textbook, the students got a hands-on look at farming and ranching — from cotton and grain sorghum to beef cattle and farm equipment.
The event is put on by the San Patricio County Farm Bureau and Texas AgriLife Extension, with nearly 1,000 students expected to take part over two days.
"We bring all the fourth graders from San Patricio County out here to the fairgrounds and let them rotate through several stations learning about different aspects of agriculture, cotton, grain sorghum, beef cattle, farm equipment, teaching them how that's important to their lives. Everything they do, agriculture touches their life every day is what we say, from the sheets on their bed to the food on their plate to the dollar bill that's made out of cotton," Jason Nedbalek said.
Nedbalek is chairman of the Ag in the Classroom committee.
Teachers say the excitement starts before the kids even get off the bus.
"Our fourth graders are so excited from the bus ride over here. They saw the tractors and get to get on the huge equipment. That was the first thing they saw and we're learning about the farming and cow-to-table, basically, what happens with all that," Elena Santhuff said.
Santhuff is a teacher at Stephen F. Austin Elementary.
For students, the day isn't just about seeing the big machinery. They're also learning how the things they use every day are made.
"When we got to go on the tractors," Jolene Gay said. "We learned how cotton was, like, cleaned and how all the, like, seeds came out."
Gay said she was excited to see the event.
"Very excited. I was super excited to like see all the animals and stuff," Gay said.
Organizers say they want students to understand how farmers and ranchers help provide the things people rely on, and how agriculture supports the local economy.
"We care for the land. We're not going to do anything bad to the land because we make our living off of that. So we want to get them, like I said, at an early age to understand how important it is to our livelihoods that we take care of that land and that we produce food and fiber for them and their families in the world," Nedbalek said.
For teachers, seeing that curiosity turn into learning is what makes the experience worthwhile.
"When they are learning, we're all learning and it's so exciting to see that in their faces," Santhuff said.
Nedbalek said it's never too late to learn about the agriculture that touches our lives every day, and if you have any questions, they would love to answer them.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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