Wilkes County Commission Chairman Sam Moore signs a proclamation designating next week as Wilkes County Agricultural Awareness Week. Present for the signing were (front, l-r) Hunter Brock, Ethan Holton, Moore, Milton Turner, Victoria McAvoy, (back) Young Farmers coordinator Eric Holton, Wilkes Farm Bureau’s Joann Wheatley, FFA representative Brian Callaway, W-WES principal Wanda Jenkins, and teacher Peggy Jones. Fifth graders at Washington-Wilkes Elementary School will be observing Wilkes County Agriculture Awareness Week next week with field trips, speakers, and essays.

With several students present, Wilkes County Commission Chairman Sam Moore signed a proclamation designating the week of March 14-20 to help students understand the impact of agriculture in Wilkes County, teacher Peggy Jones said.

The week will be full of activities to give students an in-depth look at the wide range of agricultural business in Wilkes County. “We’ll be going on field trips to Jeff Smith’s dairy farm and Will Bentley’s chicken operation,” she said. “And we’ll have speakers from Georgia Forestry, Georgia Farm Bureau, Wilkes County Veterinary Services, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Wilkes Young Farmers, along with representatives from the Wilkes Agri-businesses Council and the 4-H.”

Students will also compete in poster and essay contests reflecting what they’ve learned about the importance of agriculture in Wilkes County.