Lessons in farm life

BENTON, Mo. -- With a soft-bristled brush in hand and their attention focused on Gold, a Jersey cow, a group of third-graders from Kelly Elementary School stood and brushed her coat as they learned about how much milk she produces in a day.

Students were asked to guess how much milk a dairy cow could produce or how often Gold had to be milked. They were somewhat surprised when dairy farmer Mildred Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau explained that cows have to be milked every single day of the year --and twice a day at that -- and usually produce about seven gallons of milk a day.

For most children, it's easy to understand that a cow produces milk. But they don't realize how much other food and products begin on the farm.

The Scott County Women in Agriculture have been sponsoring a farm day for the past three years to teach schoolchildren about farm life.

How foods are grown

On Tuesday, 300 Scott County third-graders spent an afternoon at the Benton Community Building talking about farm safety, pollination and planting, learning how crops are grown and cows are milked.

Students spent about two hours visiting the different exhibits, learning about how their foods are grown and what happens on a farm.

Caleb Ratledge already knew what farm life was like since he's learned it from his grandfather. But his classmates weren't as knowledgeable when their field trip began.

"I learned what kind of plants you have to have for butterflies and caterpillars," said Michael Rhyne.

The students spent 10 minutes at each of nine different stations learning about such topics as gardening and native plants, rice and potatoes, farm and sun safety and dairy farming. Each class was escorted by a student in the Kelly Schools FFA chapter.

"Some know a lot about farming," said Tyler Long, a senior at Kelly. "And they ask good questions."

The questions were a little more serious once the students reached the station about rice and potato production because they could see a table lined with the foods that use those farm products as ingredients. The students especially liked to hear the story about how potato chips are made.

And the milking demonstration was a hit too, since the students had a chance to pet the cow and see how she's milked with a machine.

The field trip is "a textbook extension," said Margaret Arteme, a Kelly teacher.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126