Auburn University’s 2017 Ag Discovery Adventure set for Sept. 23 at E.V. Smith Research Center

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Folks of all ages can experience 21st century agriculture firsthand when they head to Auburn University’s E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter Saturday, Sept. 23, for the sixth annual Ag Discovery Adventure.

The free, family-oriented event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the 3,186-acre research center, located off Interstate 85 at Exit 26 between Montgomery and Auburn. The physical address is 4725 County Road 40, Shorter.

This year’s Adventure-goers will find activities that run the gamut from peanut digging and cotton picking to GPS-guided hayrides and pumpkin and corn mazes. They'll also will have the chance to learn valuable skills, such as how to cast a fishing pole and how to harvest rainwater. Live music provided throughout the day will include a performance by Alabama's top FFA String Band.

Hosted by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn’s College of Agriculture, Ag Discovery Adventure is designed to showcase agricultural technology and increase the general public’s awareness of the economic impact of agriculture in Alabama and the vital role agriculture plays in their everyday lives.

"Attendance at Ag Discovery Adventure has grown every year, from about 800 the first year to well over 2,000 today," said Auburn animal scientist and Adventure coordinator Lisa Kriese-Anderson. "It’s a great way for the whole family to have fun and learn a lot about how food and fiber are produced in the U.S. today."

Those attending Ag Discovery Adventure are invited to bring picnic lunches to enjoy on the grounds, or they can purchase hot-off-the-grill hamburgers and hot dogs onsite from Auburn’s Collegiate Cattlemen and Cattlewomen.

Ag Discovery Adventure is cosponsored by Alabama Cotton Producers, Alabama Soybean Producers, Alabama Wheat and Feed Grains Producers, the Alabama Farmers Federation, the Alabama Peanut Producers and the Alabama Poultry and Egg Association.

For more information on the sixth annual event, contact Kriese-Anderson at kriesla@aces.edu or Dale Monks, Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences professor and director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station’s outlying units, at monkscd@auburn.edu.

The E.V. Smith Research Center is the largest and most comprehensive of the 15 AAES stations located across the state and is home to beef cattle, horticulture, plant breeding, field crops and biosystems engineering research units.

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