Crowds are expected to fill the campus as Midlakes FFA hosts its first Harvest Festival on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features hands-on agricultural exhibits, local vendors, community groups, and the high-tech NYAAC Mobile Dairy Experience.
The Harvest Festival caps off a three-day celebration of dairy education across the Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School District. On Sept. 25 and 26, students in both the Secondary and Elementary schools will visit the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition’s 53-foot Mobile Dairy Experience trailer.
This mobile unit transforms into a 1,000-square-foot, multi-sensory exhibit space. Kids and adults can pet a live calf, meet a local dairy farmer, explore interactive stations — including a grocery checkout simulator — and learn how dairy connects to everything from nutrition to math and science.
The curriculum also ties into the district’s character traits and includes listening, comprehension, and healthy habits.
Midlakes sits in the middle of dairy country, with at least a dozen farms located within the district’s borders. Many students work on local farms while in school, or enter the workforce straight after graduation. Others go on to study agricultural science, data, or research and return to the field in professional roles across the state.
A special feature at the festival will highlight the Midlakes produce program — a collaboration between local cash crop growers, the Midlakes Food Service Department, ag education teachers, and FFA members. Each month, local produce is incorporated into school lunches prepared on-site.
Along with the dairy experience, the festival will feature small local businesses, a farmer’s market, and a variety of agriculture-connected groups from the area. It’s designed to celebrate both the industry and the people who support it — from the families working the farms to the kids serving homegrown meals in the cafeteria.
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