It’s in the clothes we wear, the shoes on our feet and the cars we drive.

It can even show up in such things as soap, shampoo and women's makeup.

For farmers and ranchers, there is no question what it is—it is agriculture.

Southeast Kansas area Farm Bureaus recently joined forces to educate area youth that, in agriculture, every day is Earth Day.

The Earth Day educational event took place in Parsons, Kan., and played host to over 400 4th grade students.

According to Mona Owens, Labette County Farm Bureau county coordinator, this makes the 14th year the area Farm Bureaus have hosted the event.

The idea, which was originally proposed by a member of the Young Farmers and Ranchers program, seemed to have a lot of merit and has continued to grow through the years.

“We started out inviting kindergarten through 8th grade students from area schools,” Owens explained. “We started having so many students that we just couldn’t handle all of them so we narrowed it down to just 4th graders.”

From the beginning, the idea was to tie the importance of agriculture into the Earth Day celebrations held across the country.

“Our theme has always been that ‘In agriculture, every day is Earth Day,” Owens said.

The event, which is planned, set-up and coordinated by Farm Bureau members from five counties—Labette, Montgomery, Crawford, Neosho and Wilson—offers a variety of activities and learning opportunities for everyone who attends.

According to Owens, students learn about the production of food, the development of agricultural by-products, the legacy of stewardship of the land, and natural resources passed on from generation to generation as well as about using grains for fuel production.

Exhibitors at Earth Day included:

•Kansas Soybean Commission

•Kansas Sorghum Producers and Corn Growers