Some passing clouds. Low 36F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..
Some passing clouds. Low 36F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: March 25, 2022 @ 8:47 pm
A class of students from Lakewood Elementary School interact Thursday with goats during Ag Day.
Kyle and Kevin Mobley talk about the progression of farm equipment Thursday morning at Lakeside Elementary School.
Patrick Preston teaches students Wednesday about his horse as Braydin Malcomson pets it at Creekside Elementary School.
Cooper Belt and Michael Benningfield, standing, put their hands in the dirt Wednesday as they learn about soil at Creekside Elementary School.
Easton Pike participates with his family in a presentation on beef cattle Thursday at Lakewood Elementary School’s Ag Day.
Ashlee Howard, from left, Mason Chenault, Xavier Hunt, Donavyn Starks and Ethan Maudin pet a pig Wednesday at Creekside Elementary School’s Ag Day.
Drew Langley talks to students about farm equipment Wednesday morning at Creekside Elementary School while allowing students to climb on a sprayer for a closer look.
Dayna Fentress teaches composting Thursday during the ag day at Lakewood Elementary School.
A class of students from Lakewood Elementary School interact Thursday with goats during Ag Day.
Kyle and Kevin Mobley talk about the progression of farm equipment Thursday morning at Lakeside Elementary School.
Patrick Preston teaches students Wednesday about his horse as Braydin Malcomson pets it at Creekside Elementary School.
Cooper Belt and Michael Benningfield, standing, put their hands in the dirt Wednesday as they learn about soil at Creekside Elementary School.
Easton Pike participates with his family in a presentation on beef cattle Thursday at Lakewood Elementary School’s Ag Day.
Ashlee Howard, from left, Mason Chenault, Xavier Hunt, Donavyn Starks and Ethan Maudin pet a pig Wednesday at Creekside Elementary School’s Ag Day.
Drew Langley talks to students about farm equipment Wednesday morning at Creekside Elementary School while allowing students to climb on a sprayer for a closer look.
Dayna Fentress teaches composting Thursday during the ag day at Lakewood Elementary School.
Agriculture was in the spotlight this week as Creekside and Lakewood elementary schools hosted Ag Days.
On Wednesday, Creekside students explored many aspects of agriculture including equipment, livestock, crops and other things that go into the business of agriculture.
It was the first year for their Ag Day event. Students rotated every 15 minutes to learn about a variety of agriculture aspects outdoors and in classrooms.
The school always has a career day but organizers wanted to do something more focused on agriculture as well, school counselor Mary Donna Atcher said.
“We are a rural school, but I don’t think a lot of our students realize all the components of farming,” she said. “They think a farmer has a farm and maybe an animal and that’s it.”
By farmers bringing their equipment and livestock to the school, students were able to experience some aspects of farm life.
“It helps them to see how ag affects their daily lives in ways they may not have known,” Assistant Principal Lara Beth Hayes said.
Second-grader Ace Rigs said during the day he learned about soybeans and wheat seeds. He learned how they grow and that you make bread with wheat and can make crayons out of soybeans. Although he said he’s not a fan of vegetables, he was learning about them.
Outside, Kinsley Anderson and Emerson Buckles learned about a large truck that’s used to haul farm products.
Kinsley said she learned about different feeds and medicines for cows. She also learned about farm safety. She admitted she didn’t know very much about farming before her school started doing agriculture classes as a part of the school’s curriculum. She got to see animals Wednesday such as a dairy cow, goat and pig.
Emerson said she knew about farming outside of school because her family has beef cattle.
“We learned today that a calf won’t survive without its momma’s milk,” she said.
That’s a lesson she learned firsthand because recently there was a calf born on her farm and because the mother didn’t have milk for it, they had to bottle feed the calf. She called the calf Zippy.
Organizer Jade Sadler is a part of Hardin County Farm Bureau and also has a child at the school.
“As a parent, I’m so thankful for the ag focus that Creekside has done,” she said. “We appreciate the opportunity for our kids to be exposed to this at such a young age.”
All the students might not become farmers, but they might become a neighbor to a farmer and she said they can understand what the farmers do.
“We don’t expect everybody to become a farmer, but we want them to know where their food comes from and to be good neighbors to farmers,” she said.
Ag teacher Becky Dennis said students have been disconnected from knowing where their food comes from.
“I think they need to know soil and water are valuable resources and we need to take care of them to grow and be knowledgeable about where food comes from,” she said.
Students at Lakewood had classroom instruction and time to learn about farm machinery and livestock Thursday morning.
Lakewood is in a rural community and because several children haven’t grown up on farms and they might not understand how they benefit from farmers, organizer and teacher Angela Pike said.
March, she said, is agriculture month and for the past several years she has taught agriculture lessons in her classroom and had an ag day where community members involved in farming present to the children.
“It’s important for the kids to know about what’s going on in the community and how their needs are met through farming,” she said.
She points out that even if they don’t live on a farm, they pass a farm in most directions leaving the school.
Lane Hunt, 9, grew up with his grandpa Avery’s farm near the school. He said there’s a lot people that need to know about agriculture.
“People need to know how a farm is an ecosystem,” he said. “They need to know how sunlight is part of the ecosystem for the farm. Air, water, soil, bugs, animals and the farmer are a part of it.”
He said while he knows science is a part of farming, others might not realize it.
Lane’s favorite part of farming is the equipment. He likes tractors and especially semi-trucks. His dad hauls grain for a local farmer and he gets to ride along with him.
Everett Richard Bowman, 10, said he has a little farm with a few beef cows.
“I guess you could kind of say we have a farm, I have some experience,” he said.
He’s learned about the work farmers have to put in to give people food and clothes. He said some people might realize what farmers do affect their lives, but he said others do not.
People may not have ever seen a farm or know much about it, he said. Everett thinks it’s important for his friends that might not know about agriculture to learn about it on ag day.
His favorite part of farming is being in the field.
“It’s going through the field with a plow,” he said.
Many of the students farmer Patrick Preston talked to said their grandparents had a farm but not their parents.
“Each generation it’s getting further and further away from agriculture,” he said.
Preston said it’s hard to be a first generation farmer, but he hopes some of the students will decide to do it.
Because land isn’t used as much for production agriculture today, area farmer Kevin Mobley said it’s important for children to learn about agriculture because they don’t see it themselves as much as previous generations have.
Kyle Mobley, presenting farmer, said it’s important for students to know their food comes from a farm, not the grocery shelves. He said many of the children are shocked when he tells them how much the tractors they had on display Thursday cost.
When you compare it in terms that they understand, their eyes would get really big at the price tags, he said.
“That’s the important part of this, to bring it into terms they can relate to and tie it all together,” he said.
Becca Owsley can be reached at 270-505-1416 bowsley@thenewsenterprise.com.
Becca Owsley is a features reporter at The News-Enterprise.
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