Almost 600 students visited Downlands College, Toowoomba last Tuesday to celebrate and learn about the important role farming plays in everyday life.
AgForce Queensland, along with Downlands College, hosted Toowoomba’s annual Moo Baa Munch – ‘Getting down to the farm’.
AgForce School to Industry Liaison Officer Tanya Nagle said the Moo Baa Munch aimed to increase awareness, particularly among the primary students, about where their food and fibre comes from, and why farming is important in their community.
“More often than not, urban primary school students are under the impression that yoghurt is plucked off trees and sausages are sprouted under the fluorescent lights of their local supermarket,” Ms Nagle said.
“We had a number of agricultural industry displays for the school days, with highlights including food preparation and milking demonstrations and the biosecurity detector dogs.”
Ms Nagle said for secondary students, the Moo Baa Munch event provided a valuable insight into the broad range of agricultural career paths on offer.
“This program takes learning out of the classroom, with units related to agriculture, food and fibre, geography, society, environment and science,” she said.
“It is so important to bring students into contact with industry in a meaningful way to show them the opportunities in the workforce and the wide and diverse array of careers.”