Matt Moore
Cows, goats, chicks, snakes, a peacock, tractors and agriculture and life science students took up temporary residency in the Brickyard Monday for Agriculture Awareness Week. The event, sponsored by Alpha Zeta, an honors agriculture fraternity, included agricultural clubs and organizations from throughout the University.
“[The event] is one of the biggest events happening on N.C. State’s campus,” Adam Gardner, a senior in agricultural extension and education, said.
Agriculture-related clubs participated, some selling plate lunches and many providing brochures and T-shirts for sale and activities at their respective booths at the event.
The Poultry Club cooked chickens for Tuesday’s lunch as a fundraiser for its club, according to Gardner, member of the Poultry Club, Agriculture Life Council and Collegiate 4-H Club.
April Alix, a freshman in zoology, said she particularly enjoyed the baby chicks the Poultry Club brought to Ag Week.
“You could take an egg and get a prize,” Alix, a member of the Zoology Club and Companion Animal Club, said. “It’s cool to see what other clubs are doing.”
Another club Alix found interesting was the Herpetology Club, which provided snakes for participants to pet and hold.
Hours upon hours go into making this week-long event possible, Courtney Parnell, sophomore in biological sciences, said.
“[Alpha Zeta] stays out there all night with the animals,” Parnell, member of professional agriculture sorority, Sigma Alpha and Pre-Veterinary Club, said.
“Ag Week pretty much takes up your whole week and is really exhausting,” she said.
Wednesday’s activities brought out WQDR’s Marty “The One-Man Party” and a designated representative for the N.C. Agriculture and Consumer Services to engage in a milking contest. Each person milked a NCSU veterinary school cow for one minute, and the contestant with the most milk won, according to Gardner.
“Marty was kind of confused, so it was pretty funny,” Gardner said.
The N.C. Agriculture and Consumer Services representative won, according to Gardner.
Other popular events included the Ag Olympics held Tuesday, a concert in Harris Field that evening and the Ag Issues Forum, which took place Wednesday night.
The purpose of the week is to inform the public and students about agriculture and the related majors at the University, according to Parnell.
Alix said she sees the merits of being informed about animals and animal welfare, and Ag Week does just that.
“[Animals] are so amazing to go one-on-one with,” Alix said.
Selby Lo, junior in biological sciences, disagreed, saying Ag Week can be a disruption in the Brickyard.
“I don’t like Ag Week because I don’t like to see the manure all over the place,” Lo said. “If I want to see a cow, I can take the Wolfline bus over to the Vet School.”
Agricultural Awareness Week wraps up today with a lunch available from the Agronomy Club and a dinner by Collegiate FFA in the Brickyard and a quiz bowl from Alpha Tau Alpha in Williams Hall.