A world different than their own: CSU Extension connects youth statewide through experiential learning at the National Western Stock Show – Office of…

When Marlin Eisenach visited an elementary school in Morgan County in 2003 to present an educational program on Colorado Agriculture, he was surprised at the number of students who did not know where their food came from.

A lot of the kids believed grocery stores grew all the food, said Eisenach, a CSU Extension Livestock Agent in Morgan County.

Morgan County is a rural community and much of the local economy is based in agriculture and related industries, but many of the students have limited experience with or understanding of agriculture.

Eisenach took this observation as a call to action. First, he went to the National Western Stock Show (NWSS or Stock Show), where he also worked as a Livestock Superintendent, and proposed bringing school tours from Morgan County to visit the stock show and learn about Colorado agriculture. The National Western Stock Show, established in 1906 and held in Denver annually in January, is the premier livestock, rodeo and horse show in the nation, serving agricultural producers and consumers worldwide.

After securing a partnership with the NWSS, Eisenach turned to the local Colorado Cattlemens Association Chapter in Morgan County. To him, the opportunity was clear: educate the youth of Morgan County about Colorado agriculture, teach them where their food comes from and wrap up the entire experience with a visit to the National Western Stock Show to provide a hands-on, interactive learning experience that students would remember.

The Cattlemens Association was on board and the following year they launched the program, focusing on third graders in Morgan County. CSU Extension agents led presentations about Colorado agriculture in every third-grade class in the county. Afterward, Extension agents organized school trips, sponsored by the Cattlemans Association, to the stock show in Denver to see the crops, livestock and other agricultural programs in person.

Hands-on education is such a great way to teach youth, said Eisenach.

Almost twenty years later, the Morgan County stock show school visits are still going strong, now sponsored by the Fort Morgan Young Farmers Youth Foundation.

Our kids learn a lot, said Eisenach. The majority of youth have never been to the Stock Show before and over half of the kids have never even been to Denver. It is a great experience for them.

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A world different than their own: CSU Extension connects youth statewide through experiential learning at the National Western Stock Show - Office of...