44th Annual Spring Ag Show
On Thursday, May 10, students from New Ulm High School put on the 44th annual ag show at the New Ulm Middle School. This event is open to daycares, preschoolers, kindergarteners, first-eighth grade.
There were approximately 60 students that were involved in putting on the ag show. This number was lower than the normal 80-90 students that have participated in the years past. The agricultural department increased the requirements that needed to be met prior to taking part in the ag show. Even though the number of participants was lower than years in the past, Jeff Nelson, a teacher in the ag department at NUHS, says “I don’t think that weakened our show. I think we had just as strong of a show, with just as many displays for the most part, and definitely very focused and committed members that were there, which I think is a good thing for our image.”
There was a variety of different displays for students to view at this year’s ag show. There were 22 different large equipment displays. These included a variety of small sized tractors, large four wheel drives and diggers. There were 2 horses, 1 sow, 4 calves, 4 sheep, lambs, chickens, chicks and rabbits. There were also displays for fishing and boat safety.
Nelson says that his favorite part of the ag show is “when you see young students see something for the first time, or they realize something, and you see ‘ah hah’ moment where their face just kinda lights up, and that’s always got to be the most pivotal moment. It is just a moment that you can’t replicate. I think anytime you can bring ag literacy or a new comprehension to a younger student it teaches them a plethora of knowledge for the rest of their life. It unlocks a new thing that they never knew, and then they grow and expand from that, and they teach other people, so the extent that the impact of agriculture can make is phenomenal, and it reaches so much further than just that one child.”
This event not only can benefit the younger children that visit it; it also has a positive impact on those high school students that volunteer to be involved. Nelson says “I think anytime you get a chance to get in front of younger students or people in the community and you get a chance to interact with the community and show your knowledge or interest level in something, it does a lot for a person’s self-confidence, but even past the self-confidence, the individual that is participating in the ag show and teaching gets to a role model for the young students, and it’s their time to be kinda ‘famous’ for a little bit. That does a lot, more than we even realize. It encourage someone to try something new or give them the confidence to go after something they never knew they could do.”
The impact of this day is exponential to everyone involved. It helps make connections, network, make public relations, make community engagement and make a positive image of students and members.
In the future, Nelson hopes to bring in more combines and planters to give students an idea of all of the equipment needed for each step of the planting process. Nelson also thinks that it is important to have livestock available for students, “so they can learn about where do products come from, what benefits livestock and animals give to humanity and even the emotional side of things that they help with.”
