Bringing back Farmapalooza
Junior Albert Lawrence and sophomore Brady Shank stand next to a 1066 Interrelation at Farmapalooza where students were able to sit on a tractor and take a picture. In previous years FFA members were able to drive around the block for a parade of tractors.
After a two-year absence, Sterling FFA once again hosted their annual Farmapalooza on May 12.
For those of you who don’t know what Farmapalooza is, don’t sweat it. Farmapalooza is an event where FFA members create booths for different parts that agriculture has to offer like animals, plants. Farmapalooza was open to more than just Sterling Public Schools students and staff; it is open to the community.
As someone who is new to S.H.S., English teacher Kaelie Hanselman expressed, “Being a new teacher, I was most looking forward to seeing the students’ dedication to agriculture and nature itself.”
At Farmapalooza there were many different booths and activities for visitors to see and do. FFA planned Farmapalooza for over a month. This year visitors were able to see livestock which will include live pigs, live chickens, and many other live animals. By the softball field, there were different booths to further explain how different things in the ag field work and how people can interact with agriculture around them. Some of these booths included chickens and how they are raised to an FFA booth where people learned what FFA is and why it’s important to members. Some other booths that were there were chickens from Farm and Fleet. Some members had booths on plants and how they help the environment, as well as information about tree cutting and trimming.
Farmapalooza is truly an event that brings everyone together to learn more about agriculture and animals. It is for all ages. With this being agriculture teacher Megan Stanley’s first year as one of the advisors helping put on this year’s Farmapalooza she was excited for what was to come. “I was most excited for our community to be able to interact with different aspects of the agriculture field. They not only got to see typical field equipment and animals, but also learned about how pollinators, trees, hunting, and excavating all play into agriculture as well. Farmapalooza does a great job at highlighting the diversity that lies under the umbrella of agriculture,” Stanley said.
Senior Emyli Sandrock stated, “I have missed seeing all of the animals and learning more about agriculture and how it affects me everyday.”
Farmapalooza made its comeback on a terribly warm day, but the FFA members were excited to teach and see everyone at this event.
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