The Georgia Farm Bureau’s Farm Day Celebration recently was held in Long County next to Veterans Field to bring the farm world to life for area students.
The annual event introduces young people to both the present and past farming industry, according to organizer Linda Hall. Each year, Smiley Elementary School third-graders go through demonstrations with their teachers.  
“We want kids to see what farmers do. Most of them don’t have a clue; all they know is that they can go to the grocery store and buy some milk or something to eat, but they don’t know how it got there,” said Hall, who is the office manager for the Georgia Farm Bureau office in Ludowici
She said there were 25 exhibits for the event, and volunteers from across the state took part. The displays included a milking machine, large farm equipment, fur trapping, forestry farming and several different farm animals.
Hall said that her company sponsored the event, with the assistance of the school’s media center. She said that the number of farms in the state is decreasing and, as a result, the volunteers all do what they can to recognize this important industry. With the event being held next to the school, the students were able to enjoy a “field trip” without the school system having to incur additional cost.
Hall said that this was the second year for the event, and plans are to continue doing it every year.
 “It was cold outside, but it still turned out well,” Hall said. “We were excited to put it on. All of the workers did an excellent job, and the kids had a good time.”