Produce doesn't come from a market. Milk and eggs don't come from a grocery store.

They all come from farms.

That's the message that the organizers of Family Farm Days are trying to convey. Farms always have been, and will likely continue to be, the most important producer of food in Lancaster County.

This year's edition of Family Farm Days will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14; and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 15, at Oregon Dairy, 2900 Oregon Pike, Lititz. The annual event, which offers free admission, is being sponsored by Lancaster County Agriculture Council and Oregon Dairy.

"If we wouldn't have farms, we wouldn't have food," said Maria Forry, a partner at Oregon Dairy. "It's that simple. If every single person had their own garden, farms wouldn't be as important. But that's not very realistic."

While the purpose of Family Farm Days is to serve as an educational tool, there's certainly a celebratory piece to the event as well.

Family Farm Days will feature tractor and wagon rides, animal petting, short presentations at the Barnyard Theater, Farm Show milkshakes, free samples of Oregon Dairy milk and ice cream, hot dogs and barbecue. The event will also include vendors, farm exhibits and information from agricultural organizations like the Lancaster County 4-H Club, the Lancaster County Conservation District and the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation.

"It's an opportunity for people to come onto a working farm and learn about agriculture and make the connection between farms and the food they eat," said Forry. "What we want people to know is that farmers care about their land and their animals. If we don't care about our land, it's not a sustainable business. We're consumers too."

Forry said that across the nation, 2% of the population is involved in production farming and that what that group produces helps sustain the other 98%.

Crowds between 12,000 and 15,000 people are expected over the three days of this year's Family Farm Days. To pull it off, the event requires hundreds of volunteers.

"They're our neighbors," said Forry. "A lot of them are Lancaster County residents, but they also come from neighboring counties. They come from all over Lancaster County. It's a lot of parents and younger kids or grandparents with grandkids. It's a good come-and-go flow."

Family Farm Days began in the mid-1980s as sort of an open house at a farm. But the event really took off in the 1990s when the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce's Agriculture Committee became involved.

"It has obviously grown," said Forry. "Now, there are definitely more activities for kids to do and more exhibits. For an event to be free to the public, sponsorships are needed to offset expenses. We get huge support from our local agriculture businesses."

"It's something we want to continue to offer every year," added Forry. "We want to have more learning, but we're not looking to grow this to 20,000 or 30,000 people. It takes a tremendous amount of people to make this happen."