Elementary school-aged students from the Florida Panhandle gathered at Northview High School for the FFA Chapter’s annual Fresh From Florida Advocacy Program on Friday.

The purpose of the program is to educate students about agriculture and where their food and fiber comes from, NHS FFA Advisor and Agriculture Teacher Perry Byars said.

“All that’s involved here supports agriculture,” he said.

Students got the chance to pet rabbits, small animals, get an up-close look at cows, view tractors and other farming equipment, and even learned about fire safety from the Escambia County and Walnut Hill (Fla.) Fire Departments. Additionally, students learned about how important bees are to farming, how to germinate a bean and made butter by hand.

Byars said this event has been going on for nearly 20 years, and each years, NHS’s FFA places at the top as far as Florida’s best ag programs is concerned.

“Last year, we finished in second place,” he said.

Byars said some 800 people attended the event, which was organized by the FFA students at NHS.

“The students organized this whole thing, from the programs and invitations,” he said. “The students are learning a lot.”