BLINN AG CLUB VOLUNTEERS MORE THAN 950 HOURS AT WASHINGTON COUNTY FAIR
The Blinn College Ag Club dedicated more than 950 hours to helping the 147th Washington County Fair entertain thousands of attendees.
More than 100 students combined to provide support for the 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) livestock and dairy judging contest, the open steer and heifer show, the agricultural mechanics show and the open brahman show. Students volunteered at a livestock show for special needs participants.
At least 80 Blinn students have volunteered at Washington County Fair each of the past eight years.
“Students get to see industry leaders and see livestock that are relevant to today’s world,” said Bryn Behnke, assistant dean for the Division of Agricultural & Natural Sciences. “They get a behind the scenes look at how an ag show or livestock judging contest works.”
The 4-H/FFA contest at the Washington County Fair is one of the largest in the state, attracting over 1,100 students each year. It remains one of the last dairy judging contests in the state.
“The dairy judging competition kind of sets this fair apart from other fairs in the area,” Behnke said. “You don’t see many dairies in the southern part of the state anymore.”
During the 2014-15 school year, Blinn’s Ag Club totaled 4,300 hours of community service. The club partnered with the 4-H, FFA, Coastal Conservation Association of Texas, Texas Parks & Wildlife and the Texas Extension Service.
Blinn’s Agricultural Sciences Program enrolls almost 800 students – making it roughly four times the size of any other two-year agricultural program in the state. Blinn offers agricultural science classes on all its campuses, with the W.J. “Bill” Rankin Agricultural Complex in Brenham serving as the program’s hub.
“The amazing thing is that we get more than 100 students to help with the fair and the vast majority of those are freshmen who are new to Washington County and are just beginning their college careers,” Behnke said.
In addition to its excellence in the classroom, Blinn offers extracurricular educational activities in the areas of livestock judging, agriculture club, wildlife, agriculture mechanics, horticulture and agriculture sciences. For more information on Blinn’s Agricultural Sciences Program, visit: www.blinn.edu/agriculture.