WILLIAMSTON — Students and exhibitors from seven counties gathered Thursday for the Northeast Regional Ag Expo at the Sen. Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center in Williamston.

This is the third year Beaufort County Schools has put on the event, but the first year all of the surrounding counties, including Bertie, Hyde, Martin, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington, were involved.

The event had a variety of exhibitions for all things agriculture, which involved colleges, military recruiters, informational tables, local Ag businesses and large equipment exhibits.

Marian Keech, of Circle Grove Seeds Inc. in Belhaven, said she has been with the Ag expo all three years, but this year’s expo was by far the largest.

She said she thinks it’s a good opportunity to expose young students to all the possibilities there are in Ag careers.

“That’s the key,” Keech said.

She said it’s also important to encourage the local students to bring their talents back to Beaufort County or the surrounding counties, instead of moving to a big city like Raleigh.

“We’ve got to stop that,” Keech said. “These children just need some guidance.”

The idea for the Ag expo originally came from local farmer Steve Griffin, although Keech said he never takes any credit for it.

Northside High School students Cameron Bunn and Amelia Woolard, both ninth graders, said they enjoyed walking through all of the exhibits.

Woolard said she got involved with the Ag program at her school because she was interested in competing in Future Farmers of America (FFA) competitions.

“It’s actually really fun,” Bunn added. “I didn’t know there was a whole bunch of stuff.”

Among the exhibitors was Belhaven resident and farmer Chester Smith, who showed off some of his antique farm equipment.

Smith said he has been collecting items all his life. His antique collection included farm machinery dating from 1903-1945, as well as hatchet tools dating back to the 1700s and 1800s.

“Anything odd or unique I just try to pick up,” he said.

Other exhibitors included representatives from the state Wildlife Resources Commission, who represented the fishing, mammal wildlife and enforcement branches.

Diane Hardison, from the Plymouth location of the pulp and paper production company Domtar, showed how the company is using soil scientists to take its waste and turn it into a fertilizer called K-Lime. Recycling the waste materials has lessened their amount of landfill waste from 200 tons to 2 tons, according to Hardison.

“The chemistry in soil science is what really made this work,” she said.

Sarah Hodges, public information officer for Beaufort County Schools, said the school district is grateful to all of the event’s sponsors, including PotashCorp-Aurora, East Coast Equipment and Ag Carolina Farm Credit, and especially the counties’ Farm Bureau organization chapters.

“They’re (the) total package,” she said regarding Farm Bureau. “We couldn’t have made it.”

Ultimately, the goal of the expo is to show students there is more to agriculture than just farming, and the career field is continuing to grow.

“I hear (students) say, ‘Hey, I got a cup from there. I didn’t know that was related to Ag,’” Keech said. “We’re not trying to invent the wheel here. We just want you to keep the wheel running.”