Stock Show Insider: Getting in the driver’s seat

The Texas Farm Bureau Planet Agriculture exhibit at the Fort Worth Stock Show gives patrons the short version of the main aspects of Texas farming and ranching. A standout exhibit is the simulation combine harvester that gives Stock Show patrons the feeling of driving the piece of equipment across a rural wheat field and harvesting the grain.

Ever wonder what it feels like to drive a big piece of farm equipment across a farm field in the Lone Star State?

Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo patrons can get a pretty good feel by visiting an exhibit called Texas Farm Bureau Planet Agriculture. There’s a simulation combine harvester that gives the feeling of driving across a yellow field and cutting the wheat. All a person has to do is sit down on the driver’s seat, push a button and grab the steering wheel. That’s when the simulator kicks in and gives the physical/visual/audio feeling of reaping a harvest.

Another Planet Agriculture plus is it hits the high points of both farming and raising livestock. It’s CliffsNotes type of information, a very compressed version about growing, harvesting and processing cotton, corn, goats, cattle, and the list goes on.

“We’re here to educate the public about where their food and fiber comes from,” said Farm Bureau representative Baron Bartels of Waco who was working at the exhibit this week. “There’s a little bit of everything about Texas agriculture. There’s a diverse set of agriculture commodities grown and raised here in Texas and to let them know that we have an abundant and affordable food supply.”

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In a day when the percentage of people who are reared a farm or ranch has sharply declined in the past half century, Planet Agriculture provides a great educational service. It’s great exhibit for a school tour. It’s also great for families who never have had the opportunity to experience farming and ranching.

The exhibit is in the Stock Show’s Poultry Barn area and near Cattle 1 Barn.

“There are a lot of questions about the job that farmers and ranchers do,” Bartels said. “We want to share our information and let our story be known.”