Auburn College of Agriculture students aim to increase the campus community’s awareness of the agricultural industry’s impact and importance in Alabama and far beyond during Auburn’s 12th annual Ag Week celebration Monday-Friday, March 27-31.
The week’s activities will begin Monday, March 27, with a petting zoo that the Block and Bridle Club and the Auburn University Young Farmers will host from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the campus Green Space. Members of other College of Agriculture clubs will be on hand to answer questions about agriculture.
On Tuesday, March 28, folks from across campus and throughout the Auburn community are invited to Ag Heritage Park for the Ag Student Council’s Ag Carnival. This year’s carnival will be 5-7 p.m. and will feature games, a bounce house and inflatable slide, a mechanical bull and more. Auburn’s Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen will be selling hamburgers and hotdogs for $5 per meal. After the carnival, the College of Agriculture’s Ag Ambassadors will sponsor karaoke night at the Alabama Farmers Pavilion until 9 p.m.
Several activities are on the Wednesday schedule, including the annual Ag Week Picnic from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m on the Comer Hall lawn. At the picnic, which is sponsored by Tyson Foods and the College of Agriculture’s development team, fried catfish and fried chicken-finger plates—complete with chips, hushpuppies, cookie and drink—will be available on a first-come basis for $8 each. Ag Week T-shirts can be purchased at the picnic for $20 each.
The LifeSouth Bloodmobile will be parked in front of Comer throughout the day Wednesday for Block and Bridle’s annual blood drive and bone marrow screening. Bloodmobile hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; screenings for potential bone marrow donors will be conducted in Comer from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Rounding out the day’s activities will be the Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen’s Burger Brawl. set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the Comer lawn. The club will provide grills, meat and buns for the cookoff; teams entering the contest should bring their own seasonings, special ingredients and toppings to compete for a $100 cash prize.
Thursday’s events include an ag advocacy lunch with Alabama Farmers Federation communications director Jeff Helms as guest speaker and, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Alabama Farmers Pavilion, Sigma Alpha’s annual Stud Auction. The week culminates Friday with Ag Volunteer Day opportunities at New Water Farms in Dadeville, Storybook Farms in Opelika and Auburn’s Campus Kitchens Project.
For more information about any Ag Week activities, contact Megan Ross, College of Agriculture student services coordinator, at mhr0001@auburn.edu.
