A group of students pet a cow

Perryville Elementary School 5th graders Arison Turner, Kaidynce Porter, Joseph Williams, Camdon Meeks and Braelyn Miller, left to right, pet a cow during All In for Ag Education Week. Photo by Fiona Morgan, Kentucky Department of Education, Sept. 15, 2025

(PERRYVILLE, KY) – Several schools in the Boyle County school district hosted special events on Sept. 15 for All In for Ag Education Week.

Students at Perryville Elementary School enjoyed a petting zoo in the morning. Many of the farm animals were brought in by local farmers, including ducks, cows, goats, horses and more.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell and Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez spoke to 5th graders about the importance of agriculture.

“We want you to know more about where your food comes from and about the different jobs and opportunities that exist in agriculture,” Coleman said. “It’s not just one thing you talk about, it requires math, science, you have to understand policy – all these different subjects that you learn about every day, we want you to learn about agriculture as you learn about these other things.”

Rodriguez spoke about her donation initiative called Harvest for the Lucky Ones. She is collecting donations of suitcases, duffle bags and toiletries for children in foster care as part of All In for Ag Education Week. People can bring donations to participating schools, which includes all Boyle County district schools. The donation drive will continue until the end of the month.

After lunch provided by Circle G Farms, state officials and district staff visited Woodlawn Elementary School. Students interacted with farm animals outside while second-graders participated in Bring Ag to the Classroom. The visiting group helped students with an agriculture assignment where they used math to determine how much money they would need to make and how many weeks they would need to work to afford a baby calf.

The group then went to Boyle County High School where freshmen participated in a burger cooking competition. As part of their Principles of Agriculture class, students formed small groups to come up with recipes for unique burgers.

Each group of students cooked and assembled their ingredients using food safety rules within a time limit. Shell, Rodriguez and other visitors served as taste-testing judges to determine the best burger.

All photos are by Fiona Morgan with the Kentucky Department of Education.

A group of kids wearing glasses all pet a baby goat near a metal barrier

5th graders Max Baker, Braelyn Miller and Camdon Meeks, left to right, pet a baby goat at Perryville Elementary School.

A couple students reach into a pen with a black fence where two ducks are walking around

5th graders Grayson Fitzpatrick and Joseph Williams, left to right, pet a duck at Perryville Elementary School.

A group of a few dozen people, lined up on rows of a staircase, sit and pose for a photo

Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, middle, spoke to Perryville Elementary School 5th graders about the importance of agriculture.

A boy rides a horse while two other boys pet the horses neck

Boyle County student Owen Gilbert showed his family horse named Booger to 5th graders at Perryville Elementary School.

A student in a white protective bee suit holds a couple of contraptions while a few adults look on

Perryville Elementary School 5th grader Dario Carbaugh shows his fellow students how to use a bee smoker to calm honey bees.

A group of people hold up a banner that says "My Kentucky Home" with multiple signatures on it and a map of Kentucky, divided into different colored sections

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez and Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, middle, signed and gifted a map to Woodlawn Elementary School showing the regions of Kentucky and which natural resources thrive in each county.

A woman wearing a crown talks to a group of students standing around a table outside in a field

Woodlawn Elementary School students talk to Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez about how she became Miss Kentucky.

Two girls hold out food for a cow through a metal barrier

Woodlawn Elementary School students Millie, left, and Abby, right, feed a cow at their school’s petting zoo.

Jonathan Shell sits at a table and talks to students

Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, middle, helps 2nd-graders at Woodlawn with an agriculture assignment as part of the school’s Bring Ag to the Classroom.

A couple of women, one of whom is Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, sit at tables and talk to students who are working out an assignment on paper

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, middle, helps a 2nd-grader at Woodlawn with an agriculture assignment using math to determine how much money they would need to make and how many weeks they would need to work to afford a baby calf.

Two students wearing hairnets and aprons stand behind a table with some hamburger buns, a knife on it and some plastic grocery bags. One of the students is holding a couple slices of tomato

Boyle County High School freshmen Kamarius Ziesmer, left, and Sam Blakemore, right, assemble burger ingredients. Ziesmer said he enjoys learning about which agriculture commodities grow best in each state and why.

A group of students tend to a grill with bacon, burgers and vegetables on it

Boyle County High School freshman Gavin Williams, left, cooks peppers and onions while Emma Lucas, right, cooks eggs and bacon.

Two students wearing aprons and hairnets sit behind a table. One of them is holding a bottle of syrup over waffles while another holds a knife

Boyle County High School freshmen Emma Lucas, left, and Laney Harron, right, assemble their breakfast-inspired waffle bun burgers.

A student wearing a hairnet, a black apron and black gloves stands behind a table with his hands in a mixing bowl on the table

Boyle County High School freshman Jordan Dunnaway mixes peppers, onions and salt into burger meat. He said his mother taught him to cook and he wants to go to culinary school someday.

Jonathan Shell talks as a couple of students look on

Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, right, tastes a burger made by Boyle County High School freshmen Daniel McKanem, left, and Logan Kenman, middle.