Northwest's R.T. Wright Farm provides students in the School of Agricultural Sciences with profession-based experiences that prepare them for a number of careers in the agriculture field. The School will host its annual Celebrate Agriculture activities Nov. 16. (Photo by Todd Weddle/Northwest Missouri State University)

Northwest Missouri State University will “Celebrate Agriculture” with a series of activities Saturday, Nov. 16.

“Celebrate Agriculture allows us to come together to recognize the impact agriculture has in the region and at Northwest Missouri State University,” Rod Barr, director of the School of Agricultural Sciences, said. “It gives us an opportunity to showcase the School of Agricultural Sciences and say thank you to everyone involved in the agricultural industry.”

The day begins at 9 a.m. with an open house at the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation. A barbeque lunch for alumni and friends takes place at 11 a.m., at the McKemy Center for Lifelong Learning. The activities conclude with Northwest’s home football game against University of Central Missouri.

Northwest alumni and friends as well as school groups may register and purchase tickets by visiting www.nwmissouri.edu/ag/celebrate/. Tickets for the barbecue lunch are $10.

Northwest’s School of Agricultural Sciences has experienced rapid growth in recent years with about 10 percent of the University’s student population enrolled in an agriculture program. In addition to its headquarters at the Hubbard Center, the School of Agricultural Sciences operates the Horticulture Complex and the 448-acre R.T. Wright Farm, which is home to beef, swine, dairy and sheep enterprises as well as row and forage crops.

Additionally, Northwest’s Forever Green campaign is raising funds for an Agricultural Learning Center, an estimated $8.5 million, 29,000-square-foot center to be built at the R.T. Wright Farm. The multipurpose facility will provide classrooms and laboratory resources to supplement and enhance the academic curriculum and research as well as space for public and private functions such as producer and agricultural industry meetings, workshops, shows and career development events, and the promotion of agricultural literacy.