Ag Awareness Week brings farm animals back to the Brickyard, giving students who don’t normally get to see farm animals a chance to stop to take a picture with them and learn more about agriculture at NC State.
Ag Week brings more than just animals to the Brickyard; other events happening around campus include several lectures on contemporary challenges facing the agriculture industry, a cow milking competition between Raleigh police and firemen and a “kiss the pig” donation challenge that ends Thursday.
Daryl Shores, a horticultural specialist for facilities, says he’s enjoyed coming to the Brickyard to see farm animals since coming to NC State as a student in 2010. He says coming across farm animals in the Brickyard is a unique experience.
“You never see anything like that on campus,” Shores said. “It surprises you.”
Nikki Brown, a senior studying agricultural* education and animal science, is the vice president of Alpha Zeta, the agriculture honors society that sponsors Ag Week. She says Ag Week is important to create awareness for all of the ways in which agriculture affects students, particularly at NC State.
“Obviously, we’re a huge agricultural college, but I think Ag Awareness Week is a way for the students who aren’t ag majors to get a feel for what we do every day,” Brown said. “It’s a cool way for people to get hands-on experience with animals because a lot of people don’t even see a cow once they get to college.”
Reilee Juhl, a sophomore studying animal science and Alpha Zeta member, says attendance in the Brickyard has been good this year with lots of people stopping to ask questions about the animals, as well as to see them.
“It’s always a very popular thing because people see animals, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh!’” Juhl said.
Victoria Beaton, an NC State alumnus who studied biology, was involved with planning Ag Week in 2014. She says it’s a large task, involving planning the logistics of bringing animals to the Brickyard, bringing farm equipment for display and finding volunteers to stay with them each hour of the day, among other tasks.
“Everybody’s out here, rain or shine,” Beaton said.
Beaton says Ag Week is a great way for NC State to stay connected with its roots.
“It’s really neat to have a school so rooted in agriculture honor its traditions,” Beaton said.
Harshitha Silva, a junior studying mechanical engineering, says seeing animals in the Brickyard is great as a stress-reliever.
“Even if you’re in engineering or anything else, you can just come out here and look at the animals,” Silva said. “It takes the stress away from you.”
Betsy Murphy, a junior studying natural resources, grew up on a farm. She says she enjoys seeing animals in the Brickyard, as well as other students engaging with them.
“It’s just the best, because being an ag kid, it’s fun for me,” Murphy said. “It’s really cool to see other people … seeing it and thinking about it, even if they’re not stopping to read the signs.”
Murphy was happy to say that she has classes near the Brickyard this semester, which lets her walk by the animals more than she has in the past.
“I feel like, by the end of the week, this cow and I are going to be good friends,” Murphy said.
Firefighter Charles Santos milks Daisy, a Holstein cow, in a milking contest between NC State firefighters and police officers in the Brickyard on Wednesday. The contest resulted in a tie and was part of the annual Agricultural Awareness Week.
