Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1249431
By Randy Rice A trip to the fair gives you the opportunity to appreciate the outstanding projects our Northwest Arkansas area youth have worked on throughout the year. "Be it crafts, cooking or the animals that have been raised and cared for, the impressive talents and hard work of our young boys and girls gives us hope for the future," said Kevin Smith, President of the Benton County Farm Bureau. "These kids that exhibit at the fair are the next generation of leaders." Formed in 1935, Arkansas Farm Bureau represents more than 190,000 member families around our state. They are a grassroots organization that advocates for and promotes agriculture throughout Arkansas, the region and the country. For over fifty years the Benton County Farm Bureau has run the petting zoo at the Benton County Fair. And it has become quite a big draw itself. "We have a lot of people who come from the surrounding areas just for the petting zoo," Kevin said. "And we think the appeal is the fact that we use it as an educational tool. The modern consumer is really disconnected from the real source of their food. A lot of people think their beef comes from Walmart. They believe that because they have become so separated from the farmer. And as Benton County becomes more urbanized, we at the Farm Bureau see the need to educate people as to what the farmer does. We use our petting zoo as an opportunity to have people learn about their food supply." The Farm Bureau also offers a variety of teaching tools and lesson plans for classroom use free of charge to any teacher who requests them. The educational tools take lessons an instructor might already teach and put an agriculture spin on them. They also sponsor an award for teachers every year to acknowledge the great work being done around the country in the area of agriculture studies. "Each county selects a teacher of the year and the state and national have awards too," Kevin said. "The Farm Bureau gives a significant amount of money at each level to the school to help with their agricultural studies programs. The Arkansas Farm Bureau: Helping us reconnect with the farmer 106 2020 Benton County Fair