Ag week festivities set (3/8/04)

A perky piglet paid a visit to Jay County Commissioners recently, and alpacas, chicks, rabbits and more will make the rounds of local elementary schools in the coming days as part of the 2004 Jay County Ag Week festivities.

The annual celebration, which will run March 8-12, celebrates the county's rich agricultural heritage. Highlights will include the Ag Day breakfast on Tuesday, March 9, the Farmers Night Banquet on Thursday, March 11 and a variety of ag-related sessions for young students.

The county commissioners signed a proclamation earlier this week recognizing the upcoming event and the farming successes seen in the state during 2003. It was presented to them for signing by ag week committee member Doug Horn, who brought along a piglet to witness the event.

Each year, 15.4 million acres of Hoosier land on 63,000 farms account for receipts totaling nearly $5.1 billion in the sale of agricultural goods, the proclamation states. Also, Indiana ranks second in the nation in the production of hatchery eggs, tomatoes for processing and ice cream production. It is the fourth highest producer of soybeans and peppermint, and fifth in corn for grain and total egg, chicken, hogs and cantaloupe production. It also has significant production of watermelon, snap beans, turkeys, cucumbers, potatoes and other crops.

“Jay County and the State of Indiana encourage all citizens to recognize the unique and fundamental role of agriculture in this state and to appreciate the outstanding contributions made by the people who work in this diverse, yet basic industry,” the proclamation concludes.

The many festivities have been planned by ag week committee members Jim Zimmerman, Carl Walker, Carla and Doug Horn, John Knipp, Joe Glentzer, Bob Axe, Lou Ann Zimmerman and other volunteers.

“The goal is to increase public awareness of the importance of agriculture,” Walker said Friday morning after he had delivered 180 dozen eggs to the 4-H Building for Tuesday’s breakfast.

Walker, who has served on the ag week committee for more than 10 years, said holding the event each year is important. “We use it as an educational (week), and it’s a good way to build relations between farmers and the general public.”

Several local farmers, veterinarians and other volunteers will kick off the week-long celebration on Monday with the school visits. These sessions will include furry and feathered friends, such as alpacas, pigs, rabbits, chickens, goats, donkeys, sheep and beef.

Other “classes” will cover popcorn, bees, earthworms, plants and grains, biotechnology and greenhouse. Varied visits, which will run through Friday, will be made to each of the county's seven elementary schools.

These visits “seem to be such a benefit to our students,” Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing said, adding she hopes they continue in the future.

“Agriculture is so important locally” and on a state and national level, she said. “We support our students learning all they can in the field of agriculture.”

The area agricultural community and members of the extension homemakers clubs will team up on Tuesday to serve the annual Ag Day Breakfast. The meal celebrates locally-raised farm products, and the menu will include eggs, sausage, toast, tomato juice, milk and coffee. These items were donated by several farms and businesses in the area, Walker said.

The cost is $1, and the meal will be served from 5:30 to 9 a.m. in the 4-H Building at the Jay County Fairgrounds.

Thursday's Farmers Night Banquet also pays tribute to the livestock and crops grown in Jay County. The night's menu will include ham, chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. It also will be served in the 4-H Building and will begin at 6:30 p.m. The cost is $5.

Musical-comedy duo Randy Beck and Tom Robertson, who appeared at farmers night in 2002, will return to entertain on Thursday evening.

“We're going to have a good show,” Robertson promised Wednesday afternoon. “We had a pretty good one last time (they were in Jay County), but this one will be better.”

The neighboring farmers from Cass County have been friends for 30 years. They have been performing their ag-related shows together for five years. “Randy has a God-given talent. He can sit down (at the piano) and just play a song” with the benefit of only a few lessons, his friend said.

Their act also features “some good, clean country stories.”

“We're just a couple of old farm boys,” he said. “We just try to enjoy what we do. We enjoy it. It's just too much fun.”[[In-content Ad]]