California Ag Network

Tag: Farm Day

  • SEEAG Expands Ag Education Efforts in Santa Barbara

    Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) expanded its reach by opening a new Santa Barbara County office and adding student and community learning programs during the 2024-25 school year.

    SEEAG is a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect youth and communities to the farm origins of their food and inspire the next generations of agricultural ambassadors.

    During the last school year, 4,225 students took part in 515 hours of STEM education. Nearly 500 high school students participated in SEEAG’s first year of STEM Career Pathways in Agriculture, a three-part experience including hands-on STEM-in-Ag labs, career guidance workshops and field trips to local agri-businesses.

    Elementary-age students in 72 schools from 27 School districts, from West Hills toSanta Maria, participated in immersive learning experiences in classrooms and on farms through SEEAG’s Farm-to-Food Lab. SEEAG’s Youth Wellness Initiative organized seven Produce Pop-Ups where 7,700 pounds of donated produce weredistributed to students and their families, with priority to students at Title 1 schools. Besides receiving seasonal fruits and vegetables, families received nutrition handouts, recipes and reusable shopping bags.

    In addition to SEEAG’s annual Farm Day in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, where farms, ranches and agricultural organizations open their doors to the public, the nonprofit introduced Farm Day Every Day in 2025. From January through May, Farm Day Every Day took place on designated Saturdays, enabling community members to tour five Ventura and Santa Barbara county farms. Over 12,000 Central Coast residents and visitors engaged with local farms firsthand through Farm Day events.

    “In a time when people are more disconnected from their food than ever before, agricultural labor and resource issues are growing, and too many community members on the Central Coast lack access to the fresh produce grown around them, SEEAG’s role is more critical than ever. SEEAG educates, inspires, and empowers youth and communities to become stewards of a more equitable and sustainable agricultural future,” says Caitlin Palus Case, SEEAG executive director.

    For a report on SEEAG’s 2024-25 activities, click here. To learn more about SEEAG or to make a donation, go to https://www.seeag.org.

  • 3rd Annual Santa Barbara County and 9th Annual Ventura County Farm Days

    After a year of virtual events, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) will be holding its annual Santa Barbara County Farm Day and Ventura County Farm Day in-person this fall. Santa Barbara Farm Day is September 18. Ventura County Farm Day is November 6. This year’s Farm Day theme is “Know The Essential Hands That Feed You.”

    Every year, growers in each county provide open tours of their farms to the public. Visitors learn about the origins of their food and how agriculture contributes to the country’s nutritional well-being. Activities during Farm Day are geared to all age groups and include farm tours and product samples.

    Members of the public drive themselves at their own pace from farm to farm on Farm Day. This year, SEEAG is introducing a new Google Maps integrated Farm Day Trail Guide. The guide will enable users to create a custom itinerary based on their personal interests. The guide will also feature curated trails featuring tours that will focus on science and new farming technology; other trails will highlight farming history.

    Santa Barbara County Farm Day is now in its third year. Ventura County Farm Day is celebrating its ninth year.

    “We are grateful for the support we receive from growers in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties,” says Mary Maranville, SEEAG founder and CEO. “Without so many growers participating, Farm Day couldn’t happen. Farm Day is such a great opportunity for growers and the public to connect. How produce appears on grocery shelves is a mystery to many. Farm Day provides a greater understanding and appreciation of growers and farm workers.”

    Growers already signed up to take part in Santa Barbara County Farm Day are …

    Sponsors include Bobalu Berry Farms, Brokaw Nursery, Coastal Ag, Community Bank of Santa Maria, Edwin and Jeanne Woods Family Foundation, Plantel Nurseries, Reiter Affiliated Companies, Ventura County Agriculture Commissioner, Ventura County Credit Union and Wells Fargo.

    For more about SEEAG, Santa Barbara County Farm Day and Ventura County Farm Day, go to www.seeag.org.

    About SEEAG

    Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program based in Ventura County teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this and other SEEAG programs, including its Child Wellness Initiative in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, over 60,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. For more information, visit www.seeag.org or email Mary Maranville at mary@seeag.org.

  • Kings County Farm Day Is One Month Away; Unique Field Trip Brings Agriculture To Life For Local Third Graders

    Hanford, Calif., ((February 20 2017) – Kings County Farm Bureau is busy preparing for the annual event that best exemplifies what Farm Bureau is all about: Farm Day. Now in its 13th year, Kings County Farm Day will bring together 2,373 third graders and 108 teachers from 32 schools for a unique field trip. With the help of 24 businesses, 12 equipment operators and 26 animal presenters, students from across the county will have the opportunity to learn about the many facets of agriculture through interactive exhibits and hands-on experiences.

    Farm Day, which will take place on Thursday, March 16 at the Kings Fairgrounds, is a collaborative effort on the part of Kings County Farm Bureau (KCFB), the Kings County Office of Education and the Kings Fair. Farm Day strives to teach the next generation of consumers about the positive contributions farming makes to the community and the local economy.

    Volunteers will guide students through a number of exhibits that allow them to climb on tractors, pet a variety of farm animals and learn the process of how food gets from the farm to the fork.

    The goal of Farm Day, which requires hundreds of man hours to plan and execute each year, is to spark an interest in agriculture – the Valley’s dominant industry – at a young age for the next generation of consumers. As educational as it is fun, Farm Day teaches children valuable lessons about where food comes from, and demonstrates that it is not grown in the grocery store.

    “Farm Day provides us with a special opportunity to teach local students about the importance of living in a farming community,” said Farm Day Chairman Brian Bergman. “Our goal is for every child who attends Farm Day to gain an increased awareness of the positive contributions that agriculture makes not only to our local community and our economy, but to the world.”

    Farm Day will take place on Thursday, March 16, from 9 a.m. – noon at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, and is a very visual event that offers great opportunities for photos and video. It is requested that media planning to attend please call Kings County Farm Bureau at (559) 584-3557 or email dusty.ference@kcfb.org in advance so that we may assist you with coordinating interviews. On the day of the event, call Dusty Ference at (559) 303-1885.