Ag Fest marks 20 years of teaching Oregonians about farm life

Mateusz Perkowski
Capital Press Staff Writer

April 6, 2007

Learning about agriculture can have a visible - and occasionally humorous - impact on children.

One event stands out in particular from the 12 years Debbie Leahy has served as the director of the Oregon Ag Fest.

A young boy at the Oregon Dairy Products Commission booth once asked why his milk sample had been poured from a jug instead of a carton. He was told that initially the milk came from neither a jug nor a carton, but from the udder of a cow much like the one he had seen earlier.

"I do remember the look on his face," Leahy said. "It was one of those moments where you just slap your head and think, yeah, I'm doing the right thing."

Oregon Ag Fest, now in its 20th year, educates about 20,000 children and parents annually about milk and all the other foods that originate on farms before they end up at grocery stores.

"Some of those people who came here as kids are coming back with kids of their own," Leahy said.

Originally, the festival started out as an awards event for the agricultural community only, but was reoriented toward the urban public in the early 1990s, she said. Since then, the Ag Country exhibit area alone has expanded from one to four buildings at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem , Ore.

"It's grown significantly over the years," she said.

Leahy attributes Oregon Ag Fest's popularity to people trying to rediscover their agricultural roots - even if they are several generations separated from the farm, she said. The current buzz about local and sustainable foods also helps drive interest in the event.

"It's important to remember it was the family farm that started it all," Leahy said.

Exposing kids to agriculture ensures more than just family fun, however. Agricultural education will be necessary for meaningful public discussions about biotechnology, food production methods and other issues that are widely misunderstood by the general populace, according to an Oregon Ag Fest press release.

"Unfortunately, most citizens are incapable of intelligently participating in democratic discourse that critically evaluates the science and technology used in food and fiber systems," reads an excerpted statement from the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the release.

Of course, attendees shouldn't expect things to get quite so heavy at the Ag Fest.

The event will start on Saturday, April 28, with a $4 ranch-style breakfast of hot cakes, grilled ham, fruit, eggs, juice, coffee and milk from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Proceeds will benefit Marion County 4-H groups. After that, families can interact with cows, horses, goats, sheep and other farm animals and enjoy the miniature tractor race, potato dig, wagon ride and other activities until 5 p.m.

The festivities will continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 29. Admission costs $6 each day, but children 12 and younger get in for free.

Organizers will hold an invitation-only 20th anniversary awards dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at the fairgrounds' Floral building. Tickets cost $35 each.

Mateusz Perkowski is based in Salem , Ore. His e-mail address is mperkowski@capitalpress.com.