Colorado State Launches 18th Annual Ag Day Celebration with Food, Fun, Football and the Best of Colorado Agricultural Tradition

Colorado State University on Sept. 11 will launch the 18th annual Agricultural Day celebration, honoring a way of life that has been a vital part of Colorado’s history and which continues to be the state’s second-largest industry.

The all-day event includes a picnic showcasing Colorado agricultural commodities, agricultural displays and activities. The local band, Cabin Fever, will provide music, and Jacor Broadcasting will broadcast live throughout the event. For football fans, a faceoff between the Colorado State University Rams and the University of Nevada Wolfpack kicks off at 1 p.m. in Hughes Stadium.

This year, those attending Ag Day are asked to bring a can of food as a contribution to "Cans Around the Oval," and receive a ticket for a prize drawing of dinner for two at Bisetti’s in Fort Collins.

"Cans Around the Oval" is a Colorado State tradition and the second largest food drive in Northern Colorado. All collected canned goods will be part of the Oct. 14 celebration when the cans are placed around the quarter-mile long perimeter of the Oval. All proceeds go directly to the Food Bank for Larimer County.

Ag Day fun begins at 11 a.m. in the parking lot south of Hughes Stadium with agricultural activities, displays and a barbecue picnic, all open to the general public. Participants can visit farm and ranch animals, learn about modern agricultural equipment and visit booths sponsored by local Colorado businesses.

The barbecue picnic will be in the area adjacent to the displays and features native foods, including apples, beef, beer, cheese, lamb, melons, milk, pork, potatoes, sugar, corn and wheat bread.

Tickets are advance sale only and can be purchased by calling the College of Agricultural Sciences at (970) 491-5669. Barbecue tickets are $10 and barbecue/football combination tickets are $25. Barbecue attendance is limited to 3,500.

Those who purchase tickets for either the barbecue or the barbecue/football combination can become eligible to win two round-trip tickets to anywhere in the 48 states, Canada or Mexico, courtesy of United Airlines and the National Western Stock Show. Just fill out the back of the stub and deposit it at the NWSS display at the Ag Day exhibit area. The winner will be announced during the football game.

Football tickets may also be purchased separately at regular prices from the athletic ticket office at Moby Arena. All profits will go toward agricultural scholarships, and this year’s scholarship awards will also be announced during halftime.

Ag Day is made possible by the partnership of Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Colorado agricultural organizations and associations.

"This annual event celebrates what makes Colorado great: its strong, thriving agricultural heritage and its tradition of working together," said James Heird, associate dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Colorado Food Facts:

  • About 75 percent of commercial beans are grown in northeast Colorado and 95 percent of seed beans are grown on the Western Slope.
  • The Colorado greenhouse industry is part of the billion-dollar green industry that ranks No. 1 nationally in greenhouse tomato production and No. 2 nationally in rose and carnation production.
  • Colorado farmers grow 4.7 million bushels of malting barley for Coors, world’s largest single-site beer brewery, located in Golden.
  • Colorado ranks fifth in the United States in potato production.
  • Apples are the major fruit crop in Colorado, with sales centered on the Western Slope.
  • Colorado ranks as the No. 1 state for lamb feeding in the nation and No. 3 for inventory of sheep and lambs, with an estimated 440,000 head.
  • Colorado dairy cows produce an average of 2,366 gallon of milk per cow per year.
  • Colorado-developed Olathe sweet corn varieties are sold worldwide.