Morrisville State attracts crowd during Ag Day

Chenango County Dairy Ambassador Lily Marshman kept herself busy assisting hundreds of students and community members who attended Morrisville State's annual Ag Day this year.



The six-year-old Oxford resident helped serve ice cream then turned her attention to petting goats and sheep who shared the limelight along with horses, a calf, cow and turkey throughout the day.



A table scattered with various vegetable seeds, “a greenhouse in a glove,” also drew a curious crowd.

Spectators chose five vegetable seeds which they placed on a wet cotton ball in the finger of glove to germinate. The educational activity signified the five servings of vegetables people should consume daily.



The event, which was free and open to the public, attracted elementary students from neighboring communities who stopped by to learn more about agriculture.



Shawna Vonmatt, a Morrisville State business administration student, from Hamilton, brought along her niece Abiri Woods, 2, of Waterville, who was fascinated by the baby goats.



More than 50 students from the college's School of Agriculture, Sustainability, Business and Entrepreneurship volunteered to help with the event, run by Morrisville's Collegiate Future Farmers of America with assistance from agriculture-related clubs on campus.



Veronique Krohn, 19, of Amsterdam, an ag business student, and collegiate FFA president who organized the event, spent much of the day sharing her agricultural expertise with spectators.



“This is a great, educational event for students and the community and I am so happy with the turnout,” she said.



Also assisting at the event was Erie County Dairy Princess Nicole Achtyl, of Lawtons, a dairy science student.



The annual celebration, which focuses on gaining better knowledge about the industry, featured hay rides, samples of the college's homemade ice cream, and opportunities to sit on tractors and to learn about fish.