Ag Fair Teaches Students about Agriculture

Ag Fair was held the week of Nov. 12 to educate youth throughout the Kleberg and Kenedy counties about agriculture. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in conjunction with the Kleberg-Kenedy Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) made presentations to 2,640 students ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to seniors in high school. The Ag Fair was sponsored by the Kleberg-Kenedy County Extension Service and brings about an awareness of all facets of agriculture to students.

Schools participating included Presbyterian Pan American, Riviera, Sarita, Ricardo, Gillett Intermediate School, Epiphany, St. Gertrude’s, Santa Gertrudis, Christian Life Academy, and Kleberg Elementary. The idea is to educate students about agriculture as many do not come from a farm or ranch background.

Jessica J. Benavides and Audrey L. Peña, employees of the Kleberg-Kenedy SWCD and Robert W. Schmidt, NRCS district conservationist in Kingsville, emphasized the significance of soil and water conservation and, specifically, how it affects the basic foundation of everything -- our soil.

A rainfall simulator was used to demonstrate the destructive forces of raindrops exploding on the soil surface, which causes soil erosion. The students were amazed to learn that raindrops fall from the clouds at 30- to 50-miles per hour. Three different pans were filled with soil. One was bare soil depicting no plant growth, a second had dead grain sorghum stubble on the soil surface, and the third had grass growing on the soil surface. Jars are used to catch any runoff and collect the ground water. Rainfall was simulated by using a garden hose with a sprayer attachment.

During the demonstration, the students learned that more water runs off the bare soil, taking topsoil with it, which eventually ends up in Baffin Bay and is gone forever. The students were surprised to hear that it takes from 300 to 1,000 years to form one inch of topsoil. The topsoil is the most productive layer of the soil which humans depend on for survival.

Most of the water goes into the soil on the other two pans with very little runoff. Plants need this valuable moisture to grow. The grain stubble and grass acts as a mulch to intercept the raindrops and slow them down enough and allows them to follow root channels and cracks into the soil. The solid cover of grass allows the least runoff so more water can enter into the soil for plants and add to groundwater.

“It is critical that we educate the youngsters on the importance of soil and water conservation,” says John Prukop, chairman of the Kleberg-Kenedy SWCD. “We take soil for granted everyday and need to be reminded from time to time of its importance.”

The other participating organizations consisted of Texas Department of Agriculture, Nueces River Authority, Farm Bureau, Wetland on Wheels, Southwest Dairy Farmers, Beef By-Products (Texas Cooperative Extension).

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Jessica Benavides explains the value of leaving residue on farmland for the protection of our soil.	Students are curious to learn more about the soil and Jessica Benavides answers their questions.	Jessica Benavides points out the importance of soil and water within our daily lives.
Jessica Benavides gives students a “wave of high-5s” for knowing the difference between soil and dirt.		Robert W. Schmidt and Audrey Peña inform the students the reasons for protecting our soil by emphasizing cover on soil through the use of the rainfall simulator.

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