SACRAMENTO – The California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm does more than grow food; it grows knowledge and enriches the lives of area youth and even peaks the students’ interest to pursue careers in California’s number one industry: Agriculture.

School tours at The Farm teach kindergarten through sixth graders about California fresh produce at the 3.5-acre working farm.

Schools from all over the region are welcome to tour the farm. Kindergarten through sixth grade students get a unique, hands-on experience in a living classroom that shows them first-hand where their food comes from.

Students will see actual crops including a functioning greenhouse. They will participate in five learning stations: Grow it- explore seeds; See it- see what the seeds turn into; Save it- the newest methods for growing plants; Plant it- plant seeds; and Taste it- taste the foods grown on The Farm.

The California State Fair Farm grows more than 90 varieties of fruits and vegetables all year long from cotton, kiwi, squash, eggplant, chili peppers, corn and melons to pumpkins.

Nearly 4,000 students experience what it takes to plant, maintain and manage a farm during Spring/Fall Farm Tours.

The California State Fair Farm is a working farm that produces tons of produce which is donated to the Sacramento Food Bank. In 2017, more than 16,000 pounds of produce was donated.

The California State Fair Kaiser Permanente Farm Tours are offered for six weeks in the spring and fall.

The spring farm tours at Cal Expo are Monday through Thursday starting April 9 and wrap up May 17.

The fall tours will begin on Sept. 10 and will conclude Oct. 18.

Schools are encouraged to book tours for both spring and fall now before all of the slots are taken.

There is a nominal fee of $7 per student for the tour. Included in the fee is a tour through the Forest Center, an area that features 40 native species of trees.

Experts from the Forest Foundation allow the children to get close to nature while learning about the benefits of a healthy sustainable forest.

Also during the farm tour, students can milk “Cali,” a mechanical cow donated by the California Milk Advisory Board.

Reservations are going on now at http://www.castatefair.org/farmtours/.