Students at Fort Hays State University recently received a crash course in where their food comes from at the university’s Agriculture Day.

“The goal is to educate everyone about agriculture,” Allison Railsback says. “Where the food they eat and the clothes they wear on their backs come from.”

Her shirt helped drive the point home. The front asked passersby: Without agriculture where would you be? The back provided the answer: Hungry and naked.

Railsback is president of the FHSU Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter, which sponsored the April 26 educational event along with Ellis County Farm Bureau.

More than 300 students strolled through booths showcasing how growers raise crops and livestock, the technology and equipment used in agriculture, and Jasmine, a milk cow.

With a microphone in hand, emcee Jackie Mundt helped draw attention to the displays by visiting with students walking by, talking to people waiting in line for a hamburger and asking ag-related trivia questions.

Mundt says events like Agriculture Day help consumers connect consumers with those who grow and raise the food they eat.

“We’re getting in front of people who may not know anything about agriculture and just helping them understand that we want to be open,” Mundt says. “We want to answer their question. We want them to know about their food.”

Kansas Rep. Ken Rahjes said it’s important that Collegiate Farm Bureau members helped organize the day. He said their involvement lets students know there are people on campus who can explain where their food comes from.

“It’s hard to do it just by feeding them a hamburger, but that helps start that conversation,” Rahjes said. “It’s small seeds that grow into important things.”