Fifth-graders learn firsthand about agriculture

GREENTOWN, Ind. (AP) - Where does your food come from? For lots of kids, the answer is simple: it comes from the grocery store.

That's true, but it's only a small part of the story.

The whole story of where food comes from was told on Tuesday to around 425 fifth-grade students during the annual Howard County Ag Day.

Students from Eastern, Western and Kokomo converged on the Howard County Fairgrounds to learn about the long, winding process involved in turning plants and animals into all the ingredients that go into an everyday, commonplace pizza.

Students visited eight different stations scattered around the fairgrounds, where students in the Future Farmers of America groups from Western and Northwestern high schools walked the fifth-graders through the pizza-making process from the farm to the table.

One station discussed water and soil conservation. Another detailed how cheese is made and how tomatoes are turned into sauce. Other stations let kids get a close-up look at a 25,000-pound combine and get up close and personal with chickens, goats, ponies and cows.

Students learned two handfuls of wheat wouldn't be enough to make even one slice of their favorite pizza. They also learned it takes over 100 gallons of water to produce just one large pizza pie.

Joshua Winrotte, an educator with Howard County Purdue Extension, which organized the event, said teaching kids about where their food comes from is more important today than ever as fewer and fewer kids are exposed to farming and agriculture.

"As the demographics change at our schools, there's always the possibility there is a kid out there who has never experienced farming," he said. "A lot of families now don't have anything to do with rural agriculture. As that happens, it's important they can see it up close instead of just when they're driving past a field."

Jerry Hastman, a lifelong farmer from northwest Howard County who manned the combine station at the event, said it's important for kids to know that food isn't something that just magically appears at a grocery store.

"I think this kind of education is needed more today than ever before," he said. "People are getting further and further away from agriculture. People just think they go to the supermarket to get their food without realizing where the supermarket gets it."

Kent Chism, vice president of Howard County Farm Bureau, which was one of the sponsors of the event, said Ag Day also exposes kids to all the employment opportunities involved in the agriculture industry.

"Agriculture isn't just farming anymore," he said. "There's engineering, food processing and equipment maintenance. Agriculture employs a big part of the population. It's a huge industry."

Winrotte agreed.

"We want kids to understand that you don't have to be a farmer in a field if you're interested in the soil and the earth," he said. "You can go work for a group like the soil and water conservation society and do other things beyond farming."

Although the event aimed to educate, most of the fifth-grade students seemed to mostly enjoy just being outside and getting a free taste of cheese and pepperoni.

Western Elementary School student Jonah Raab said his favorite part of the day was petting the animals.

"One of the cows pooped on another cow!" he said with glee.

Evan Butcher, another Western student, said the craziest thing he learned was that a combine weighs over 12 tons.

"They're so huge," he said.

Winrotte said not only is the event a great learning experience for the fifth graders. It's also a great way for the high school FFA students to pass on their farming knowledge to the next generation.

"It's nice that these students can share their enthusiasm," he said. "The eight FFA leaders we have are all about not only sharing their enthusiasm about farming, but just about being here and being part of this experience."

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Source: Kokomo Tribune, http://bit.ly/2nn0unf

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com