SALEM — Oregon Ag Fest is honoring the Oregon Dairy Princess Ambassador Program and the Lost River FFA with $1,000 each for their exceptional efforts in agricultural outreach and education.

The purpose of the Ag Fest Agricultural Education Award is to reward student organizations, nonprofits or classrooms that promote and educate Oregonians about agriculture and extend the Oregon Ag Fest mission beyond its annual two-day interactive event.

“As Oregon Ag Fest celebrates 35 years of growing awareness for the importance of agriculture in our communities, we are proud to continue to support the agricultural education outreach efforts of nonprofit and student organizations this year,” said Leah Rue, Oregon Ag Fest chair.

Lost River FFA members have worked to increase agricultural awareness in their community through their Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Literacy project, participation in the Klamath Basin Farm Expo, Farm to School projects and Agriculture Field Days at Malin and Merrill elementary schools, according to an Ag Fest press release. As part of this, students manage school gardens at three locations to help children raise leafy greens and they also hatch chicks for their chicken coop project, which elementary kids are able to witness as part of the literacy program.

Lost River FFA also raises food for their schools, including eggs, lamb, hogs, beef and vegetables. 

The Oregon Dairy Princess Ambassador Program provides personal and professional development for a team of young women who promote Oregon dairy farming in classrooms and public events throughout the year.

During the pandemic, they developed virtual learning tools for students to continue to get the message about the nutritional value of dairy, how milk is produced and how animals are cared for. They developed four virtual presentations:

• Kindergarten through second grade: “Journey From Farm to Table.”

• Grades 3-5: “Technology Through Time.”

• Grades 6-8: “Dairy Industry Mythbusters.”

• Grades 9-12: “Stakeholders in the Dairy Industry.”

Their agricultural advocacy efforts helped reach over 19,000 people.

 “Oregon Ag Fest is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of agriculture, and we see this award as a way to encourage and support student groups and nonprofit organizations that have programs and activities aimed to accomplish the same thing,” Rue said.