April 16, 2025
Several busloads of excited second graders from each of Prince George County's five elementary schools made the trek to Willie Bresko's Pole Run Road farm for a morning-long field trip centered on exploring the world of agriculture in their own backyard during "Farm Day," a collaborative, hands-on experience organized by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Prince George Farm Bureau, and other community partners, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
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The event, an elementary school tradition for over two decades and always highly anticipated by students and teachers alike, provided students with a unique opportunity to interact with farm animals and learn about the origin of the products they use in their daily lives. The day's activities were designed to engage the next generation of producers and consumers and shed light on the vital role of agriculture in the local and statewide economy.
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Farm Day provides an exciting local field trip opportunity for students but also closely aligns with the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) objectives for second-grade science education as it delves into living systems and processes for plants and animals. Across nearly 10 stations, groups of students were able to learn about the plant life cycle, go hands-on with crops, and see various farm animals up-close with help welcoming farm hands. Additionally, the students were able to see the structure of a honeybee colony and learn about the crucial role of pollinators in supporting our food needs. As the United States Department of Agriculture notes, three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and over a third of the world's food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce.
According to the most recently available data from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), agriculture continues to be Virginia's largest private industry, accounting for over $82 billion in economic activity and over 380,000 jobs. At the local level, the most recent Census of Agriculture conducted by the USDA in 2022 found that Prince George County is home to over 120 farms that manage over 26,000 acres, many of them family-owned. Their data found most of these farms range in size from 10 to nearly 500 acres, with these local producers growing various crops, including grains and vegetables, and tending livestock and cattle.
Activities like Farm Day give students the opportunity to engage with a multi-million dollar local industry in their community, as the Census of Agriculture revealed that producers in Prince George County sold agricultural products amounting to nearly $11 million in market value in 2022.
Throughout the year, Prince George County Public Schools students take part in a variety of hands-on learning activities like Farm Day. Earlier this school year, the district hosted its annual Technology Field Day, an award-winning initiative that exposes fifth graders to advanced technology and career and technical education (CTE) with support from teachers and students participating in Prince George High School's CTE programs. This homegrown district program has been recognized by the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA) for excellence in workforce readiness. Other programs, including Farm Day, explorations of the Chesapeake Bay, and career fair experiences, serve to enhance the learning experience of students throughout the school year.
To learn more about the Virginia Cooperative Extension, visit their website at http://ext.vt.edu.
Prince George County Public Schools thanks the following individuals and organizations for their support of Farm Day: Willie Bresko, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Prince George Extension Office, Prince George Farm Bureau, Prince George High School 4-H, Prince George Master Gardeners, the Richmond Beekeepers Association, and the James River Soil and Water Conservation District.