Horses, Cows and Sheep: Oh My!
Story and photos by Destiny Mizell / Contributing Writer
After a long-awaited two years, Middle Tennessee State University’s commemoration of National Agriculture Day returned to campus on Thursday.
Located on the lawn between the School of Agriculture and the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., “Ag. Day” showcased farm animals and hosted a scavenger hunt with prizes. This year, MTSU student Emily Gill coordinated the event.
“National Ag. Day was started in the 1970s by the Agricultural Council of America. Since then, producers try to put on events to create awareness about agriculture and answer any questions from the public,” Gill explained.
Due to COVID-19 procedures, the past two National Agriculture Day events on campus were canceled. However, this year, Gill was honored to resurrect the tradition and share agricultural knowledge with the students of MTSU.
“There are so many aspects to agriculture for people to learn about. There is plant science, precision agriculture, fermentation science, animal science, horse science and entomology—that’s just the tip of the iceberg! There are large-scale farms and backyard farms where you can learn many different things,” Gill stated.
The educational experience wasn’t the only thing that lassoed students into attending this event—the animals roped in a multitude of students.
Whether it be the puppy, the dairy cow, the horse or the sheep, students gathered all around for a chance to interact with them.
MTSU Junior Leah Meece made sure to get plenty of pictures. “I didn’t even know [Ag. Day] was a thing here! The animals are so precious,” Meece, who particularly loved the horse, exclaimed.
Another MTSU Junior, Jenna Blackburn, mentioned that the high school she graduated from held an Ag. Day event every year. Blackburn appreciated that she had the opportunity to experience it again here.
Whether it was a student’s first Ag. Day or one of many, the Agriculture Department was delighted to deliver the experience.
This kind of event highlights the overall importance of agriculture in our society, and it serves as a hands-on learning opportunity.
“From the clothes you are wearing to the food that you eat, agriculture is an integral part of everyone’s daily life. National Ag. Day at MTSU is helpful because it exposes students to agriculture in a way that they might never be able to. Some of the students on campus have never been able to get up close to a horse or a dairy cow, and this gives them that experience. It also starts a conversation about agriculture, and students can ask their questions to their peers,” Gill explained.
Gill also shared that the Agriculture Department intends to continuously grow this event in the coming years to expose students to even more types of agriculture.
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