10/26/2026
Nebraska Extension of Pawnee and Richardson Counties held the Southeast Nebraska Ag Literacy Festival on October 13 & 14, 2026. This year, 237 third-and-fourth-grade students participated representing six schools from Johnson, Pawnee, and Richardson counties.
Ag Literacy Festival is an opportunity for students to learn about areas of Nebraska Agriculture that they may not otherwise experience. This year, sessions covering swine, pollinators, potatoes, beef, milo, dairy, biosecurity, and sheep were presented to the students.
The swine session taught the students about the importance of ventilation in a swine production facility by having them build a swine barn from envelopes.
At the pollinators session, students learned about the different types of pollinators, what is required for them to survive, and their importance to the food supply.
The potatoes session gave the students a lesson on how a potato grows deep in the soil and potato production in Nebraska.
The students met Max, the fistulated steer from the UNL Beef Lab, and were able to suit up, put their hand inside his rumen, and learn about the nutrition requirements of a ruminant animal & the way fistulated animals can help us understand the rumen digestive system.
At the milo session, students learned about the importance of milo and built wildlife feeders out of pinecones and milo seeds.
At the dairy session, the students learned the importance of the different breeds of dairy cattle and goats and the products that are created from them, like ice cream.
In the biosecurity session, the importance of biosecurity to animal agriculture was taught to the students and they practiced removing personal protective equipment without contaminating themselves.
The session on sheep had the students learn about the process that gets wool from the sheep to a product like the bracelets they each created.
Thank you to our sponsors, presenters, and schools for your support of this event, we couldn’t have a successful event without you!
