Agriculture has played a very important role in the history of Athens, Limestone County and North Alabama as a whole. Most, if not all, of the major settled areas in the county sprang up around the cotton industry, with the fiber remaining an important part of the local economy to this day.

Cotton has proved so important that a boll of the fiber can even be found on the city of Athens logo.

Given the importance of cotton and agriculture as a whole to the area, it makes sense that the Limestone County Extension Office would work to educate students on the significance of the crop and the field it is a part of.

Limestone County Extension Coordinator Chris Becker said the idea came about through the local 4-H, a set of programs aimed at youth development run by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

He said all fifth graders from both Limestone County and Athens City schools had the opportunity to take a trip to the cotton gin owned by the Associated Growers Cooperative at the intersection of Brownsferry and Ripley roads.

A group of farmers, members of the Limestone County Career Technical Center and even some local officials were on hand to speak to the students about agriculture and its impact on the world.

“Cotton is a huge part of Limestone County’s economy, and agriculture is what made Alabama really,” Becker said. “Ag is still one of the biggest economic drivers in the state, and it’s unfortunate that many kids these days have no idea how important ag is and what goes into raising a crop.”

He said the hard work and the amount of technology used in agriculture today “are lost on lots of kids” these days.

“Even some of the teachers who came with the students were amazed at just how technologically advanced the cotton gin has become,” Becker said.

Becker said it took coordination with both school systems in order to bring over 1,000 students on the field trip over a period of days. He said Athens City Schools Superintendent Beth Patton and Limestone County Schools Superintendent Randy Shearouse were on board with the idea and even agreed to fund the students’ transportation to ad from the gin.

“Hauling that many kids is not cheap,” Becker said. “Both superintendent were very supportive of the field trip, and we hope to make this an annual event. We would not have been able to do it without the cooperation of the co-op — the group of farmers that own the gin. For them to let us do this was big, and we appreciate it.”

He said it felt great to host all the students and help teach them about agriculture’s importance.

“We all enjoy wearing clothes,” Becker said. “We enjoy living in houses and eating three or more meals a day.The only way we’re going to be able to keep that up is to continue teaching youth how important agriculture is and the career opportunities it provides.”

The Limestone County Extension and 4-H have a number of classes and programs they put on each year, and the local Extension office now has a newsletter to help keep residents informed about what it has going on. Visit bit.ly/LCACESNewsletter in order to subscribe.