Ag in the Classroom enlightens third graders

“Ag in the Classroom” took place at Hartley Elementary over the lunch hour on Monday, March 23. Programs covered four subject areas including beef and dairy, pork, sheep and corn and soybeans. Guest instructors brought in fun activities, videos, and two baby sheep in a pen. Third-graders came from all three Waseca elementary schools, Team Academy, Sacred Heart and Hartley.

 

Each classroom session lasted about 30 minutes. Vicky Singlestad, coordinator in conjunction with the Waseca County Farm Bureau, said about her motivation for today, “I have a passion for educating the public about farms and where their food comes from. Buying in a grocery store is only part of it. Farmers grow, consumers buy; what about everything in between? We’ve been doing this since 1991; my oldest is in her 40s right now, when we started this, she was in the third grade. My son-in-law farms with us today, it’s very nice to see the tradition of the family farm continue.”

 

Sue Harguth, a Waseca resident who has lived 14 years of her life on a dairy farm, was speaking in the first room about beef and dairy. After being introduced, Harguth was quick to dim the lights. She prompted, “Raise your hands if you live on a farm.” From the group of 30, four raised their hands. Then she asked a follow up, “Raise your hands if you have grandparents on a farm?” Eight children raised their hands. She played a video highlighting the dairy industry on Bohnert Farm, a family led company and large dairy farm in Illinois.

 

In the next room, area farmer Todd Selvik was explaining information posted in a large outline of a pig with various sections labeled as butt, loin, picnic, rib, belly and ham. Selvik was asking children, “Who here has had Ramen noodles?” Most of them raised their hands, then Selvik asked, “Who’s had Jello? Marshmallows? Who knows what dynamite can do?” There were discussions on the answers and just how many things are made using pork.

 

In another room, The father-and-daughter team of Tina and Gary Shoenrock were allowing children to pet two five-day-old sheep being kept in a children’s play pen. While Gary spoke and answered questions, Tina kept watch to make sure the little animals didn’t get out of line. One of the children asked Gary, “How long do the baby sheep stay bottle fed?” Gary replied, “They get between six to eight weeks being nipple fed, but within a week they will nibble on grass if they see their mother do it.” Another child asked about when the sheep get sick and he said, “They get sick sometimes and we have shots for them, but it doesn’t last very long.”

 

In the fourth demonstration space, Leon Schoenrock and Craig Baxter were explaining about how soybeans are put into a giant crusher, explaining “If you squeeze the beans hard enough, you get oil out of them.” Both men put their hands together like they were squeezing something. Then they showed a list of everything soybean oil is used for.

 

All of the children participating in the day's event received neon green backpacks filled with coloring books, crayons, stickers, erasers and a range of items related to agriculture.