Families are invited to celebrate the diversity of Kosciusko County agriculture from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at “A Taste of Agriculture in Kosciusko County: A Family Affair,” at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds. All attendees receive a gift for attending.

Diversity truly describes the experience you will have while attending this event. Whether you enjoy great food, fun for the children, activities of all types or seeing animals – this is definitely the place for you and your family.

We are excited to be celebrating our 15^th anniversary of this event. New this year will be the first annual chili cook-off. Attendees at the Taste of Ag will choose the overall winner. First-, second-, and third-place prizes will be award plus the first-place winner will receive a trophy and bragging rights for 2013! A special traveling trophy is being created for the event.

For complete rules and an entry form please visit the Purdue Extension- Kosciusko County website or call the office at 574-372-2340. Entries are due April 5.

To further help celebrate the 15^th anniversary, there will be $1,500 in grocery gift certificates and over $500 in other door prizes. This includes product or gift certificates of varying amounts will be given for locally raised products such as soy candles, beef, pork, tomato, dairy, duck and the ever popular T-shirts will also be included in the celebration.

There will also be a coloring contest for children. Full contest rules and entry forms will also available at the Extension Office or on the website. The coloring contest is being sponsored this year by Silveus Insurance Group.

Start off the evening with the opportunity to enjoy supper hosted by the agriculture community. You will have the opportunity to taste ice cream, cheese, various pork products, duck, popcorn, beef, eggs, goat cheese, salsa and chips and much more.

Many family-oriented events are highlighting Taste of Ag. The eighth annual Ag Olympics is at 5:30 p.m.in the Show Arena. Participants will be competing in a wide variety of events. This year the four local FFA chapters have been invited to participate in Ag Olympics for the coveted “Rusty Pitch Fork” Award. You definitely do not want to miss all the action.

The children’s activity corner is back by popular demand. Bring your camera to take pictures at the display boards while meeting Corny Corn and the “Whole Gang.” Face painting, balloons and much more are being added for the kids.

The Wawasee FFA is also hosting a pedal pull for the kids. Registration starts at 5:15 p.m. for children ages 5 to 10. Prizes will be awarded for the top finishers in each age division. New this year is the fact that the pedal pull will be held in the Show Arena at 6 p.m. following the Ag Olympics.

The Farm Fresh directory for Kosciusko County will also be distributed at the event. The directory will help residents discover the wonderful agriculture products produced right here in the county.

Also on display will be over 20 different booths representing agriculture in the county. Booths participating include beef, dairy, swine, ducks, chickens, crops, soil and water quality, food nutrition, farm machinery, 4-H, sheep, Master Gardeners, Northern Indiana Pet Breeders Association, Solid Waste, goats, rabbits, FFA, horses, lumber, The Old Farmhouse, farmer’s market, and Sill’s Grass-Fed Meats. You can also get a head start on your garden, make a mini-composting unit, and much, much more.

Families can again work together on a scavenger hunt to find answers to questions relating to agriculture. Children who participate will receive a great prize.

The goal of the evening program is to provide an interactive educational opportunity for both youth and adults to learn about agriculture in Kosciusko County. As the title implies, people attending the event will have the chance to taste samples of the various products grown in Kosciusko County. For those booths that do not produce a food commodity, they will have an activity to participate in or animals to visit.

Be sure to bring the entire family! The event is free to the public and is sponsored by the Kosciusko County Agriculture Awareness Committee, Extension Office, Farm Bureau and Farm Credit Mid America and supported by the Kosciusko County Community Fair.