Beaufort County high school students got a taste of the opportunities available in agriculture on Tuesday at Beaufort County School’s first-ever agriculture expo.
“I love this,” said student Kasie Nixon. “I liked learning about the different colleges. I really didn’t know there were that many colleges with ag subjects in it.”
Rhea Woolard said she enjoyed learning about “after school” options.
“The things they can tell us we can do after we are out of high school,” she explained.
In addition to students from Beaufort County, students from the Northeast Regional School of Biotechnology and Agriscience attended.
Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Don Phipps was impressed by the turnout and the interest in agriculture.
“I think the adults are as excited as the students are,” he said.
Many from Beaufort County Schools’ central office, including Phipps, pitched in to make the expo a success. The event came together in a matter of weeks after being proposed by Steve Griffin, an agriculture businessman and member of the local Farm Bureau board of directors.
Phipps said the district had no trouble finding vendors willing to participate and donate the $14,000 needed to organize the expo.
“It was extremely easy,” he said. “People just saw the benefits and wanted to be a part of it.”
Jared Cates of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association shared information about his organization at the expo. He was pleased with the interest students demonstrated.
“It’s just a great way to connect students to the resources in the community,” he said.
Tideland’s Wayne Brackin said he was “very much impressed” by the event and the students. The feeling was mutual.
Brackin’s booth demonstrated the effects of touching live power lines. His demonstration of what happens to one’s skin when electrocuted was performed with a hot dog.
The expo included indoor booths that discussed safety and shared products made possible by North Carolina farms. Students tried ice cream made by local farmers and cookies made with wheat grown in the state.
Outdoors, there were demonstrations with farm equipment and the state’s highway patrol returned to show the dangers of texting and driving with an obstacle course that students were invited to try.
Northside student Collin Jennette enjoyed Brackin’s demonstration. His overall judgment of the event was primarily based on the activities offered and the freebies available from more than 50 vendors.
“The drunk-driving part was pretty fun, the food was good, the ice cream was bangin’ and I’m really enjoying this ball from the Farm Bureau,” he said after making his rounds.
Phipps would like to see expos in other fields like health and medicine and planned to make the agriculture expo an annual event.