Celebrating Ag Week: Ag Society hopes to create awareness

The Kimball County Ag Society is involved in more than just the county fair.

Doug Lukassen, president of the Ag Society, said that though the local organization is meant to put on the county fair, it contributes in many more ways to the community and to young people of the county.

The organization works to educate young people about agriculture and safety and increases the opportunity for programs such as 4-H and FFA to grow, according to Lukassen.

“We really strongly support 4-H and FFA programs in any way we can,” he said.

That support includes opening up the fairgrounds and the 4-H buildings for the local FFA chapter to host the District 12 FFA competition. Additionally, the fairgrounds are open throughout the year for many events as well, not just for 4-H, Lukassen said.

Other than the District FFA contest, the fairgrounds are used to weigh in cattle, sheep and pigs as well as to host events throughout the year for the community.

Students at Mary Lynch Elementary School learn about safety around equipment and in the field in May at the Farm Safety Day at the fairgrounds.

June brings the ranch rodeo and the FFA sponsored progress show.

“In July we open it up so that if people want to park their campers they can rent a spot for the all-class reunion,” Lukassen said.

August is a busy month with the county fair early in the month followed by rough riders later.

Farmer’s Day activities in September are held throughout Kimball, including at the fairgrounds.

“This last year we didn’t have a demolition derby,” Lukassen said. “We are going to do something on Farmer’s Day this year. I’m not saying it will be a demolition derby. We talked about bull riding or something like that.”

Additionally, the buildings are available for rent, according to Lukassen, by contacting the Kimball-Banner County Extension Office and proceeds from rentals go into the board’s budget.

“We are putting in brand new bucking chutes for this rodeo. We took our old chutes out and they are for sale if anybody is interested in them,” Lukassen said. “There are some young kids that might want to buy them for home for practice.”

Money from all rentals, sales and fundraising efforts are then used for general operations, maintenance and to host a free barbecue during fair week. Funds are also used to nurture the programs that encourage and educate the youth of the county.

“We do a lot of volunteerism. Every month we have a work day. There is always something to do - upkeep and build new and fix stuff,” Lukassen said. “A lot of people think that the budget is for a four-day fair. We have to heat the 4-H building, we have to pay electricity, and insurance is a lot of our budget because of the liability part of it.”

This year’s fair will include the PRCA rodeo as well as chore time and a NASCAR simulator, according to Lukassen. It will also include the always popular bounce houses, a crash simulator and live entertainment.

“We thought some of this would bring some of the people that don’t get up to fair, up to fair,” Lukassen said. “I’d like to see, in time, that we get the open classes back for sewing and gardens. We used to have a class that showed art exhibits from school.”

4-H offers many opportunities for students according to Lukassen. There is something for everyone including photography, sewing, gardening and shooting, and the local leaders may soon start a dance club through the program.

“Just because you live in the city or don’t have livestock doesn’t mean you can’t be in 4-H,” Lukassen said.

The local ag society is also seeking help. Currently, the 12-man board is operating with just 10 members. They would like to have representation from all corners of the county, and the only requirement is that candidates are registered voters of the county.

More hands on the board means a less difficult division of labor for the many activities they sponsor, Lukassen said.

Additionally, the board would love to see more community members come out to enjoy their offerings including local vendors, the area youth and name brand entertainment.

“Last year we had Gwen Sebastian in here for entertainment and I suppose we had 350 or 400 people,” Lukassen said. “That is pretty name brand entertainment. It’s hard to get entertainment like that if you can’t get more people there because that takes so much out of the budget.”

The county commissioners cannot offer additional financial support, Lukassen said, because they are up against their lid. He added that community support for the club is vital.

“We went on the ballot last year and some people misunderstood it, but it was printed right. On a $100,000 home it would have cost the tax payer $12.80 a year for our budget,” Lukassen said. “Well if they come to our free barbecue and bring two or three people they already got their $12.80 back.”

The board meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at the 4-H building.

Lukassen said that anyone interested in learning more about the Ag Society, 4-H or Kimball-Banner County Fair, including vendor information, can contact the Kimball-Banner County Extension Office at 308-235-3122 or him at 308-235-5027.