Hands-on with agriculture draws students to AG EX
Glacier FarmMedia – Hundreds of Manitoba students got up close with cattle and sheep in Brandon in late October.
The experience was thanks to the return of MooMania and its sheep-centred counterpart, EweMania, to the 2025 Manitoba Ag Ex. The dual educational events have become standard showcases at the fall ag fair in Brandon.
Why it Matters: Agricultural education events such as MooMania and EweMania hope to bridge a growing gap between consumers and primary agricultural production.
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The hands-on experience, designed for grades 3 to 5 students, is meant to give urban children a rare opportunity to connect with the province’s agricultural industry.
About 70 per cent of Canadians live in large urban centres, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census. Meanwhile, Canada’s farm population declined by more than 60 per cent since 1971, falling to around 593,000 people. The average farm household size has also decreased, now sitting at 2.8 individuals per household.
Carissa Kirkup, a Grade 6 teacher at St. Augustine School in Brandon, brought her class for the fourth consecutive year. Very few of her students have connections to agriculture.
“That’s really why I like to bring them here because I like to expose them to Manitoba agriculture and all the all the things we have,” she said.
The event also ties into her science curriculum’s “diversity of living things” unit.
“It’s a really hands-on day, and it’s a fun learning experience,” she said.
Features of the day include mock livestock shows, barn tours and interactive stations outlining how the industry works.
The Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba, which hosts Ag Ex, said MooMania explores the life of a cow from the barn to the dinner table, while teaching students about food production and environmental sustainability. EweMania was added to the schedule several years ago with collaboration from the Manitoba Sheep Association
Simon Atkinson, a board director with the Provincial Exhibition and one of the sheep organizers, said education remains central to the show’s mission.
Historically, around 200 students from about a dozen schools in western Manitoba participated in the programs, organizers said.
Kirkup, who has a farming background, said her school tries to incorporate agriculture into classroom lessons using available resources.
“I think it’s important to talk about because of the connection to food and everyday living,” she said.
Source: producer.com