North Dakota State’s annual celebration of its roots as an agricultural college is occurring next week.

The celebration, also known as Ag Week 2017, aims to bridge gaps in public knowledge of agriculture and will be held April 3 through 7 to celebrate NDSU’s roots as an agricultural college.

Ag Week will feature events of food, discussion panels and competitions.

The goal of the week is to educate students and staff of NDSU and the area community on agriculture, production agriculture and the past, present and future of agriculture.

It is an inclusive event to all members of the NDSU campus, regardless of major or background, as food and the agriculture industry are topics that affect everyone.

As was the initial idea of Ag Week, The North Dakota State University Agriculture Collective sets the structure for the Ag Week events, but leaves room for various agriculture clubs to put on their own events.

Charles Steinberger, NDSU Agriculture Collective president, said, “The Ag Collective has been putting on Ag Week for three years now and have expanded the weeks’ events from an 5 events to our 16 events.”

The week was started in response to similar events the club saw at other agriculture colleges.

Highlights of the week include a kickoff cookout at Shepperd Arena on April 3, a chili cook-off and game show night on April 5, an etiquette dinner on April 6, and a closing banquet on April 7.

Discussion panels on the topics “Sustainability in Horticulture Crops” and the “Impact of the New Presidency on Agriculture” will occur on April 3 and April 4, respectively.

A graduate poster competition with scholarships going to the winners will be another feature, which allows students to connect with their peers and learn more about the academic and research side of NDSU’s agricultural programs.

Jacob Dailey, a campus ambassador and founding member for Ag Week, has had a primary role of organizing the Ag Week banquet this year. He said the banquet celebrates everything to do with agriculture and highlights the importance of people knowing the origin of the food they eat.

“Ag week is inclusive and is geared toward bringing in different people from all types of majors. Every event is chosen because it allows for the opportunity to have a conversation, for people to have different opinions of about agriculture and about food,” Dailey said.

Additional details on times and locations of events can be accessed on NDSU Agriculture Collective’s Facebook Twitter Page.