South Dakota State University’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) Prexy Council will host its 15th annual Ag Week celebration April 22-25.
This year’s Ag Week theme is “Where Excellence Meets Agriculture,” a sentiment that was created and voted on among the Prexy Council representatives and executive officer team. The council also determined this year’s keynote speaker, entrepreneur Andrea Flemming.
Throughout the week, students are encouraged to pick up free Ag Week T-shirts in areas on campus such as Pierson Hall, Raven Precision Ag Building, Animal Science and Main Street in the Student Union. All the events hosted by Prexy Council are free to students, because of donations from industry sponsors.
There are opportunities for students across campus, whether they’re involved in agriculture or not, to enjoy Ag Week. The week is meant not to only celebrate those involved in agriculture, but to educate the entire campus about CAFES and the agricultural industry.
Ag Week begins on Tuesday, April 22, which is also Earth Day this year. To celebrate the day across campus, Prexy Council, alongside the Natural Resource Management Department, will host an Earth Day related event open for everyone.
To kick the week off, there will be a dodgeball tournament in the Barn Tuesday at 7 p.m. where students can win prizes with their teams of six.
On Wednesday morning students can either walk or run in the second annual Milk Run hosted by Dairy Club. It begins at 6:30 a.m. in front of Dairy Science Hall. If you’re not in it for the fitness, Swine Club will be serving breakfast afterward in the lobby of Dairy Science.
Wednesday is packed with opportunities to connect with professionals and peers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Main Street in the Student Union. CAFES student clubs, organizations and Ag Week’s sponsors will be tabling and hosting activities.
The Ag Week banquet will cap Wednesday’s festivities. Beginning at 5 p.m., students can find a free meal at Club 71. There also will be an opportunity to grab a shirt at the event. The banquet program will begin at 5:30 p.m. before the keynote speaker, Andrea Flemming gives her speech on “The Agricultural Industry has NEVER Failed Me.”
Flemming is a fifth-generation farmer and entrepreneur from southwest Minnesota. She had plans to become a large animal veterinarian after attending SDSU for animal science but those plans changed. She ended up moving back home to her family’s farm and joined in with her parents and eventually her husband, where she fell in love with entrepreneurship and farming with family.
Flemming calls herself a “multi-passionate serial entrepreneur.” She is a public speaker, runs her own online fitness groups as a certified personal trainer and is a social media content creator promoting ‘day in the life’ agriculture content.
After the conclusion of the keynote address, there will be an awards ceremony. During this portion of the program, CAFES clubs and organizations are recognized for successes and accomplishments.
Applications open every spring for outstanding seniors, teacher of the year, adviser of the year and club of the year. A selection committee made up of student representatives, faculty and staff is created for each award category.
The CAFES Advocate is the only member of the Prexy Council Executive Committee that is voted upon by their peers. Voting occurred in March, alongside the Students’ Association elections. That person also will be announced at the Ag Week Banquet.
A photography contest opens the month before the banquet and the submissions are voted on through a “people’s choice” category, along with a separate judging category.Categories include black and white, animal, nature and landscape, action and this year’s theme, “where excellence meets agriculture.”
Thursday events begin at 5 p.m. in the Raven High Bay, where clubs will hold a picnic and potluck with dishes that represent their clubs. Students are encouraged to come and connect with peers.
After the picnic and potluck in Raven Room 176 at 6:30 p.m., there will be Ag Week Trivia Night with special guest and moderator, Dean Joseph Cassady, the South Dakota Corn Endowed Dean of CAFES.
To wrap up the week’s activities on Friday, Prexy Council and the Swing Dance Club will host a swing dance from 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. in The Barn. Cost is $5 at the door.
Ag Week used to be “Ag Day,” but with the growth of the CAFES college and overall interest, led to an expansion in the schedule.
CAFES Prexy Council is the governing student body for all the students in CAFES. There are over 30 clubs that are part of CAFES, with each of those clubs having a representative that serves the council. The representatives play a crucial role in ensuring that their clubs are involved and have recruitment opportunities throughout the year.
Each year, the council hosts various events such as an ice cream social in the fall semester and a hot chocolate social in the spring semester. These socials serve as a recruitment opportunity for all the clubs within CAFES. Their largest event they plan is Ag Week every spring.