By WILL PERKINS
Glasgow News 1
Although a pop-up rain shower and threat of lightning moved festivities inside, the recent “Dairy Day” event at The Peoples Bank helped spark curiosity in local agriculture.
The event, hosted by the bank and Barren County High School’s Future Farmers of America chapter, featured agriculture activities for children, ice cream and local milk from Legacy Dairy.
Participants were also able to interact with a calf and cow-milking simulator, which were provided by Kentucky State University and its new Barren County extension office.
Terry Bunnell, president and CEO of The Peoples Bank, said they wanted to celebrate June Dairy Day by recognizing all of the hard work of local dairy farmers, “and how much they mean to us from the standpoint of providing food to us” and “the work ethic that farmers have, especially our dairy farmers.”
Having the calf present on the bank’s front lawn was an excellent way to engage local children, Bunnell said.
“She’s been great for the children to pet — and grownups, too.” Bunnell said of the calf, adding that the cow-milking simulator also provided a unique opportunity for the community.
“That’s been fun,” he said. “People practicing at milking and understanding how milking was done years ago.”
Bunnell said he is very proud of Barren County’s deep agricultural history, and wants to make sure younger generations learn about their local past.
“Growing up in a community like this, where Barren County has been a leader in agriculture in so many different areas for years, and we need to understand the heritage that we have with that and what agriculture has meant to us and we don’t want that to be lost on anyone,” Bunnell said. “I’m afraid at times that we take a lot for granted, and we definitely do not need to do that. We need to recognize people, remember what people have done and then that’s tied to our past.
“If we’re going to be able to move to our future, we have to know about our past.”
Younger generations have an organization that strives to promote local agriculture — the FFA.
“It’s great to see how a community will support the dairy industry,” said Alana Houchens, vice president of Barren County’s FFA chapter. “They do so much work for us as a community, so it’s good to see people appreciate that hard work.”
Houchens said she was very excited when Bunnell approached her about involving local FFA members with this event.
“I was like, ‘This is the FFA’s goal,’” Houchens said. “Leadership. Agriculture. Community. That’s our three big things.
“I’m really glad that we could help out — just talking to the community, getting our name out there in case anyone wanted to support the future of agriculture.”
The Peoples Bank and the Barren County High School Future Farmers of America chapter hosted a “Dairy Day” event last Friday. Kentucky State University and its new Barren County extension office brought a calf and a cow-milking simulator to the event. Will Perkins/Glasgow News 1
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