National Agriculture week is a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Agriculture in our everyday lives. This year, National Agriculture Week is March 10th-16th, with National Ag Day being March 14th.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County (CCERC) provides year round programming to help strengthen the agriculture industry. We provide programs from farm to plate. This includes workshops, conferences and one-on-one education for farmers to improve their on-farm practices as well as consumer education through nutrition and agriculture literacy. If everyone ate following the USDA recommended “My Plate”, there would be a strong demand and market for the nutritious and safe food products that are produced by farmers. Additionally, our residents would experience increased health benefits of eating a balanced diet and increased quality of life.
Some of our upcoming Ag Programs include:
- Basic Poultry Management- March 28th
- Llama and Alpacas – May 16th
- Farm Day Out- August 18th
Past Programs have included: Spring Garden Day, Mental Health Awareness, FAMACHA Scoring, and many others.
Youth agriculture education is a primary focus through 4-H via community clubs, after school, school enrichment and special interest programs. 4-H is the only entity in Rensselaer County that provides comprehensive agriculture education and opportunities for youth – the future of our agriculture industry. Career exploration and providing youth the opportunity to see the vast opportunities that exist in Agriculture as a career direction are a high priority to help assure our agriculture industry remains strong in Rensselaer County and elsewhere.
Our school enrichment programs that focus on agriculture range from Composting and Gardening to Animal Science and Ag Literacy. This year’s Ag in the Classroom Book is On the Farm, At the Market; it takes readers on a journey through the harvesting process of different farms all the way to their product(s) being sold at the farmers market. If you know of a school that would be interested in this year’s Ag Literacy program or some of our other school enrichment opportunities, please have them reach out to me.
As for 4-H in our county, some of our past and future youth programs include:
- Veterinary Science
- Tractor Safety (April 22-24 with an orientation on March 26)
- Species Specific Workshops
- The National AgriScience Summit
- The Schaghticoke Fair (August 28-Sepetmber 2)
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County Thanks our Farmers March 10th through the 16th as well as year round for all their hard work in making our county a great place to live. Our farmers provide open space, strengthen wild life habitats and environment while providing us with food and fiber every day of the year.
If you would like more information on our current agriculture education offerings or if you have ideas for future programming (4-H and Adult Ag opportunities), please go to our website at www.ccerensselaer.org or contact our 4-H and Agriculture Educator, Kayela at 518-272-4210/ kls342@cornell.edu.
CCE is an equal opportunity employer and programmer recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities.
