Get Ready for Ag Days This Week in Sonoma County

Part of the American Dream has always been to grow up on a farm. Nowadays, for most boys and girls coming of age, it's only a dream.

That's why Ag Days are so important: to make the dream real, if only for a few hours. Now in its 33rd year, Sonoma County Farm Bureau's Ag Days should bring more than 3,500 urban school children to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Tuesday and Wendesday this week.

They'll be there to to connect with the animals, ranchers and farmers who are part of the local food cycle, and maybe help this next generation realize our interdependence on them.

Urban school children to meet the farmers and ranchers who produce their milk, meat and produce, tearning about the source of their food, fiber, flowers, and meats. Kids will taste Sonoma County cheese and apples, and learn the art of roping from cowboy Buzz Bozzini. 

For the younger ones, there will be baby farm animals; for the older ones, composting demonstrations. Active bee hives and a hay maze add to the action.

Speaking of bees, they are favored in this year's theme. "Bee Healthy...Farm Happy," celebrates bees' contribution to farming and food production. The 11-year old "Twin Chefs" Audrey and Lilly Andrews of Sonoma demonstrate some of their favorite snacks made with honey.

School tours are offered both Tuesday, March 26 and the next day. Reservations for these class tours should already have been made, deadline was March 1. The activies are centered in and around the Lyttle Cow Palace at Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

Contest winners will be honored at the Ag Days Awards Dinner, Tuesday night at 5:30 at Grace Paviliion.

To learn more about Ag Days, visit Sonoma County Farm Bureau online.