Editor, The Herald:

A Family and Farm Day will be held at the Virginia Tech Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center on Saturday, September 11, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The objective of Family and Farm Day is to educate the non-agricultural community about the benefits and importance of agriculture.

Virginia's agriculture and accompanying agribusiness sectors account for nearly 11.2% of the gross state product. We are planning a variety of educational activities for parents and children. This will be an opportunity for the general community to have fun in a family atmosphere while learning about Virginia's largest and oldest industry, agriculture.

Some of the activities planned include grain art, water cycle bracelets, corn maze, milking a cow using the “Clover” cow model, livestock production, demonstrating soil erosion and discussing soil conservation, aquaculture, butterfly tent, beekeeping, and production and uses of soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton, and peanuts.

There will be live animal exhibits featuring cattle, sheep, alpacas, horses, baby chicks and more.

We also plan to promote agriculture safety awareness and A TV safety.

This program is a non-profit educational event supported by various sponsors interested in Virginia Agriculture.

P.J. Shepherd

Chair

Family and Farm Day