Alliance High School’s FFA organization hosted an agricultural fair targeted toward third grade students. Third grade classes visited throughout the day, but the fair was also open to the public and had many other visitors as well. The goal of the fair was to inform younger generations of what agriculture really is and what people in the agricultural field really do. AHS senior Hannah Kesterson said the fair, “…has been pretty fun with the kids so far,” at an interview just before lunch. The fair drew in over 300 kids throughout Alliance, causing a busy, yet informative day. Miss Lori Walla, FFA sponsor at Alliance High, said the fair was, “…a fantastic opportunity for the kids and high school students.”

The fair boasted a number of attractions, like a sheep herding demonstration by two well-trained dogs. The dogs put on an excellent show each hour, but many kids found themselves distracted by the opportunity to pet a wide variety of farm animals, from chickens and horses, to less-expected animals, like llamas and alpacas. Many of the kids also enjoyed heading over to climb on several large tractors and sitting in the seats and honking the horns. Possibly the most memorable part of these kids’ excursion was the dairy processes station. At this station, FFA students showed the kids how dairy products begin with a cow and are processed all the way through to being made into ice cream; the popular demonstration ended with an ice cream treat for the kids.

The fair was held behind the Alliance Public Schools Administration building, allowing for a beautiful grass base for the animals. The Ag. Fair has been an annual occurrence for over ten years now and will be back next year, so if you have a young child and missed the fun this year, make sure you look for it next April.