Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro joined local agricultural leaders at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo for a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the Valley Farm exhibit, Sept. 27.

Designed to educate young people about agriculture, the new exhibit was a joint project of the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Fresno Chaffee Zoo, Gar and Esther Tootelian Charitable Foundation, Bennett & Bennett Irrigation and the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

The former Small Wonders petting zoo has been transformed into the Valley Farm exhibit. Guests now have the opportunity to pet and interact with sheep, goats, chickens, a dairy cow and other farm animals. The exhibit features crops and fruit trees, demonstrating first-hand how Valley farmers grow and irrigate produce. Visitors learn about the region’s agricultural contributions to people around the world.

Fresno State’s Plant Science Club, made up of students majoring in Plant Health and Crop Production, helped develop this exhibit. “Graduates of both majors are in high demand statewide,” said Dr. Bruce Roberts, Fresno State’s J.G. Boswell Chair of Agronomy. “The Plant Science Club’s involvement with this project allows our students to showcase the diversity of our region’s agriculture, apply their academic skills and be a part of this public service opportunity.”