YOUNG agricultural educator Belinda Cay sees the Royal Adelaide Show as SA's biggest classroom and a chance to help those in the city make the connection between a wheat crop and bread and pasta on their tables.
She says it is a big opportunity to engage with the general public about SA's food production, with more than 500,000 patrons entering the show each year.
Belinda lives on a farm near Owen in the Lower North with her husband and two young children and is one of the show's many volunteers.
She is involved in the Golden Grains pavilion as a member of the Grains and Fodder committee.
This pavilion showcases the Ground to Grub display, supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, and aims to bring a little bit of the country to the city and tell the story of grain production from paddock to plate.
The display not only features award-winning grain, pulse and fodder samples from across the state but has a range of science-based interactive activities.
"Ground to Grub gives showgoers the opportunity to touch, see, smell and understand the processes of growing quality grain," Belinda said.
"General research suggests that you only have 30 seconds to win over someone from the general public in a display or message so we changed our approach from people just looking at exhibits to encourage people to touch, feel and try activities."
Among the most popular activities are touch-and-feel grain boxes and a display that lets visitors mill their own grain into flour or roll their own oats.
Exhibits from the University of Adelaide, Case IH, Tafe SA and SARDI are also included.
About 15,000 samples of grain are handed out annually for children to grow a crop in their own backyard.
"We are sharing with people the value of farming in producing nutritious grain crops," Belinda said.
"It involves all the steps from the scientists in the lab, to the farmer in the field, to getting the product on the plate."
Belinda says Ground to Grub has been developed to showcase a number of careers and opportunities that students can consider.
"Farmers are a big part of the agricultural industry but you don't have to be a farmer – there are also many opportunities in food production, ag research, agronomy, agribusiness, grain marketing, communication and more," she said.
A decade ago, at 24, Belinda was invited to be part of the Grains and Fodder committee.
She jumped at the chance because of her interest and passion in grain education training and working with students to help them understand the role of plant breeding in providing quality food.
* Full report in Stock Journal, August 28, 2014 issue.