Whitley First-Graders Learn from FFA Youths
Published: Friday, March 16, 2018
Over 400 Whitley County first-graders attended the annual Ag Day last Thursday at the 4-H Center in Columbia City.
The event is hosted by the Whitley County Soil and Water Conservation District, Whitley County Farm Bureau Inc. and Purdue University Extension. Columbia City High School's FFA chapter also assisted with the event.
The first-graders saw a wide variety of farm animals and learned about the products that come from farm animals.
There were nine different stops that were set up at the 4-H Center for the first-graders from Mary Raber, Northern Heights, Coesse, Little Turtle, South Whitley, Churubusco and Faith Christian Academy to see.
The students got a chance to visit each stop to ask questions and had an opportunity to pet the animals.
"This is something that we really enjoy doing for the first graders," said Nadean Lamle, office manager for the Whitley County SWCD. "Many of these children have never had the opportunity to be close to a farm animal. We try to remind the students, chaperones and teachers that if it wasn't for the farmer, their parents wouldn't be able to buy many of the products that we take for granted in our everyday lives. Some farmer somewhere had to raise the foods that we eat every day of our lives."
The Columbia City FFA chapter supplied speakers for nine of the stops and all the animals. In addition, chapter members served as tour guides to help the teachers with students and to guide them from stop to stop.
Robby Sheets brought two of his young feeder pigs to share with the first-graders. Robby and Abbi Schrader explained the notches that are cut into the baby pigs' ears for identification. Abbi explained that when the pigs are finished out, or grown, they will be used for food products such as ham, bacon, sausage and pork chops.
Dillon Sheiss and Robby Sheets explained that some chickens were bred to lay eggs and others are bred to eaten. He also talked about showing chickens at the 4-H fair.
Lindsey Hoskins brought three different varieties of rabbits. Lindsey explained that some rabbits are raised for meat and some are used as show animals. Rabbits make excellent pets. They make very good 4-H projects to show at the fair.
Abbigail Schrader brought a mother goat and her two babies, or kids. Abbigail said there has been a growing demand for goat milk, because it is easier for some people to drink. It is also used to make goat cheese. And some varieties of goats are raised just for their meat. More people are eating goat meat than ever before because it is very lean.
Melanie Rumsyre brought two feeder calves to share with the first-graders. She is planning to use them as her 4-H projects this summer at the fair. Dayna also explained that when the calves are fully grown, they will be butchered to become hamburger or steaks for someone's dinner table.
Wyatt Kauffman talked about equine care. Wyatt said owners need to have a saddle, riding helmet, brushes for grooming and other items. He also discussed a horse's diet. It is a large responsibility to take care of a horse properly.
Maddie Schroeder talked about the Pekin ducks. These meat ducks cannot fly because their wings are so small compared with the size of their bodies. There are a numerous duck farms in northern Indiana.
Janelle Burnworth and Pam Ousley from the Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. discussed all of the farm products that are needed to make a pizza. Janelle wore her pizza hat while she explained the crust of a pizza comes from wheat the farmer raises. Janelle showed examples of what the wheat plant and grain look like. She talked about the tomatoes that need to be raised to produce the tomato sauce. Farmers raise green peppers and onions, which are needed as toppings on the tomato sauce. Farmers also raise chickens, cattle and pigs to provide meat toppings.
Grace Schrader and Devin Baker handled the tractor safety stop. They explained the different jobs that people use tractors to perform, pointing out some safety tips.
On ATV safety, Devin Baker brought the same vehicle used by his brother last summer when he had an accident. Devin also had the helmet that his brother had been wearing at the time. Devin explained that it is a state law that if you are under the age of 18 you must wear a helmet while riding an ATV. Luckily, his brother was wearing his helmet.
At the end of the day, each first-grader was given a coloring book titled "Might Mini Microbe's Tale—the Underground Adventures of the Soil's Superheroes" and a booklet from the Indiana Dairy Farm Families, "For You from the Farm" to take back to school.
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