Dozens of local kids are getting a fun, up-close look at life on the farm this week as the North Alabama Agriplex hosts its annual Touring Farms for Kids event, giving children a taste of Cullman County’s rich and diverse agricultural roots.

On Wednesday, the tour stopped in for an educational visit with the Echota Cherokee Tribe of Alabama before taking off for hay rides, tours and lunch at a pair of local farms — the Trent Boyd Farm and the Haynes Farm.

The afternoon was reserved for fishing from the stocked pond at Camp Meadowbrook, where Alabama Soil and Water also set up shop with a walk-through mobile information station.

“The kids enjoy it, and some of them are really surprised at how much they actually do enjoy it,” said the Agriplex’s Sonya Nail. “My nephew is actually on the tour today, and when he took this tour for the first time, he changed from saying ‘I’ll never be a farmer’ to ‘I want to go on that tour again!’”

The once-a-year tours are part of the Agriplex’s busy and active calendar of activities and events aimed at teaching young people about Cullman County’s agricultural past, as well as its vital present. The tours continue today with a visit to more local farms, as well as a visit with the Cullman County Museum’s Drew Green for a fun lesson on the area’s agricultural history.