Agriculture highlighted at annual appreciation day

PALMER — With a surname like Gardner, appreciation of agriculture is nearly embedded in the DNA.

Joshua, 7, Luke, 5, and 3-year-old Bobbi Gardner raced excitedly around the grounds Thursday at the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living at the Experiment Farm for Agriculture Appreciation Day. They had their faces painted, petted some farm animals and played ag-themed games.

So where do the Gardner children think food comes from?

“Um, plants?” answers Joshua.

“From the trees,” chimes in Luke. “And from cars.”

The youngest, Bobbi had the answer many kids have to that question: “Go to the store.”

Helping to expand that perception of agriculture’s place in the Valley is one of the goals of the appreciation day, said Norm Harris, administrator for the center. Getting the message about the importance of agriculture to kids is extremely important, he said.

“We find that if you haven’t captured kids by the time they’re in middle school and starting high school, then you won’t get them,” Harris said. “They’ll go into computers or something and make big bucks.”

Getting the younger generations interested in farming as an occupation is vital for the industry in Alaska and the Valley, he said.

“The message for youth is it’s a good life,” Harris said. “If you want to be outstanding in your field on a day like today — getting paid for it is just gravy on top of everything else to live like that. Food doesn’t come from the supermarket, and farming is a more intimate connection with your world.”

Jordan Ledbetter is getting that message. The 11-year-old Wasilla Middle School student has his own theories for where food comes from, which he said he learned from television.

“Well, basically, we have to, like, food gets processed from animals, right?” he said. “We have to basically slay our animals and we take them to the butchers and chop them up, and that’s how we have food.”

Asking the same question of 11-year-old Levi Gall earned the reporter a what-kind-of-idiot-are-you look.

“Duh, food comes from seeds,” he said. “You plant it, of course.”

While he said he liked the variety at the event, his favorite was the dunk tank.

Along with the Experiment Farm, the state Division of Agriculture and the Alaska Grown program took its message to youngsters with a variety of games and stories, including a vegetable store. Kids who listened to a story titled “Who Grew My Soup” received $5 in Alaska Grown bucks to spend on vegetables donated by local growers.

They bought zucchini, tomatoes, Swiss chard, green onions, carrots, potatoes and more, said Kristi Krueger, who works in the marketing program of the state Division of Agriculture.

“The whole purpose of this book is to read the story so the kids can learn about the farmers, who make all the ingredients that go into soup,” she said. “Hopefully, they’ll appreciate how much work goes into being a farmer.”

Robyn Faris knows about that work first-hand. The 16-year-old is an incoming junior at Palmer High School and a member of Future Farmers of America.

“When I think of agriculture, I like going out in the gardens and the farms,” she said. “There’s a lot more work that goes into it than you think. It’s a lot more work to grow it and take care of it than to just go and buy it.”

That effort is worth it, Faris said.

“I think it’s a lot more rewarding to grow it yourself and I think it tastes better just because I grew it,” she said.

Clair Howell, 9, already knows about the effort it takes to raise farm animals. She helps take care of her family’s animals.

“We have goats, ducks, chickens and we used to have rabbits, but they died. You have to make sure they’re healthy and they have clean water and plenty of food that isn’t moldy,” she said. “And they need attention, too, because they like that and it makes them friendly.”

She said she enjoyed petting the young animals Thursday.

“I love them. I don’t really know why, I just like animals,” she said. “They’re friendly and stuff. They all feel soft, except for the pig. The pig feels rough.”

Along with perfect, sunny summer weather, another message came through loud and clear, Harris said.

“The future for agriculture is bright. I think there is a great future.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.