HELENA — The Prickly Pear Simmental Ranch on York Road welcomed many East Helena fourth-grade students on Tuesday as part of the Lewis and Clark Co. Farm Bureau’s annual Ag Day.
During the ranch tour, students were educated on various aspects of farming and ranching. The ranch set up over a dozen stations to educate the students on topics ranging from branding to water and soil management.
MTN News
The Ag Day event, started in 2017 by the Lewis and Clark Co. Farm Bureau, aims to educate youth on the sources of their food and potential careers in agriculture.
Hazel Brandt, a student from Radley Elementary, expressed gratitude to the ranch for the opportunity and shared her enjoyment of learning about farm machinery.
Loretta Burnham and her husband are the owners of Prickly Pear Ranch Simmental Ranch, with Burnham also serving as the Secretary of the Lewis and Clark Co. Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
MTN NEWS
Burnham shared with MTN the satisfaction of exposing students to agriculture and seeing their interest in farming animals or owning their farms in the future.
According to the Montana Department of Agriculture, Montana is the second-largest state in terms of agricultural land, with over 58 million acres of farm and ranch land. In 2022, farms and ranches in the state produced $4.3 billion in goods.
MTN NEWS
