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Agriculture and food science technology is one of the leading industries in the United States. Encouraging students to find their own pathways towards feeding, fueling, and clothing the world is an ongoing pursuit of agricultural education.

Agriculture & Food Science Exploration Day was developed in 2022 as a partnership between Riverland Community College and Mower County 4-H Extension to educate area youth about what it means to work in agriculture and food science technology. The goal for this program is to have new activities and adventures for all students each year.

Statistically, while only 2% of the population has direct ties to production agriculture, over 50% of the population works in a field related to agriculture and food science. AFSE Day seeks to capitalize on those opportunities.

“The idea for Ag & Food Science Exploration Day was to excite our youth about all the opportunities they can have in Ag & Food Science,” said Adam Stevermer of Mower County Extension. “While the event is designed to be a quick hands-on exploration day, we hope students can find one topic that excites and motivates them towards a future study and even career in an agriculture or food science field.”

This year’s theme was “Food. Fuel. And You” and topics ranged from how ag, food and natural Resources impacts the human food supply, powers our lives as a fuel source, and how the students can be a part of this conversation. Held on Wednesday, July 10, the participants took part in various sessions ranging from 45-90 minutes in length. Topics covered included plant science, animal health, food product development and food safety, developing leadership skills, and STEM-related technologies.

The students learned about agronomy by participating in a variety of crop scouting activities, including insect ID, stand count, and soil sampling, and collecting plant leaves to measure plant health and performance. These activities encouraged the students to learn about agronomy and plant science. The students were instructed by Nathan Augustine, Megan Solland, Nick Weigel, and Dave Vaughan of Nexus Cooperative at a local farm.

“It was fascinating to see the students get energized about using sweep nets, flying a drone above plant canopies, and using a soil probe to perform a soil sample of the farm,” said AFSE co-coordinator Nick Schiltz. “They were also able to learn about what it takes to do a plant tissue test. Knowing this is important, but it was even more fun for the students to learn about how to evaluate plant growth stands to measure planter performance. Once the students were able to learn these basic skills, they were able to discuss weed, insect, and disease control that agronomists use on a daily basis. The neatest thing too was that students had to work as a team and on occasion, hear from the farmer they worked with.”

The students then traveled to Read’s Brown Swiss dairy farm where they learned about animal nutrition and animal health. Students worked together through complex scenarios that educated them on proper animal husbandry and how to safely milk cows.

AFSE Day students were coached on developing and honing their leadership skills. Minnesota 4-H State Ag Ambassadors led the students on workshops that helped students develop communication that they can use in any field of study and career and in any teamwork environment.

AFSE Day covered the agronomy and livestock sectors of Food. Fuel. And You. The group next learned about the biofuels industry by touring Absolute Energy Ethanol Plant near St. Ansgar, Iowa. They learned about the ethanol production process – how corn is converted from grain to fuel and how a by-product, dried distillers grain (DDGs), is used as a feed source in the livestock industry.

Students were involved in every step of the ethanol fuel process — touching, smelling, and seeing the process unfold. They also had an opportunity to learn about how important industries like ethanol are to agriculture and rural economies.

From here, AFSE Day continued with a food innovation activity with Hormel Foods Research & Development Labs’ research scientists inside of the Riverland Community College Food Science Lab.

Students were given bacon and various seasonings. Their job was to develop a new food product using what they had, experimenting with ingredient sizes to get the right taste. Seasonings included apple cinnamon, dill pickle, French toast, maple black pepper, and hot honey. The process of adding flavor to the bacon involved weighing out the seasonings and then properly adding them to the bacon.

Following the Food Innovation activity with Hormel Foods, the students celebrated their graduation from 2024’s AFSE Day. Each participant received a certificate of completion as well as many take home bag items to help them learn even more about Food. Fuel. And You at home.

Organizers thanked the sponsors of the 2024 Agriculture & Food Science Exploration (AFSE) Day including: Riverland Community College, Mower County 4-H Extension, Mower County Farm Bureau, Mower County American Dairy Association, Mower County Corn and Soybean Growers, Reads Brown Swiss, Absolute Energy, Nexus Cooperative, Hormel Foods, and The Hormel Foundation.

To learn more about AFSE Day or Mower County 4-H, contact Adam Stevermer, 4-H Extension Educator, at stev0421@umn.edu or 507-437-9552. For more information on postsecondary options in Ag & Food Science, please contact Riverland Community College Agriculture Instructor Nick Schiltz at nick.schiltz@riverland.edu