Author: Christan Miracle
Planning Unit: Marion County CES
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Plan of Work: Improving Profitability and Sustainability of Livestock and Crop Production
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Farm to Fork Field Day is a program that teaches 5th grade students across the county about agriculture and food in their community. In our rural community there is a need to teach youth about where their food comes from. Giving real life examples of many different food products is one way to show the students how their food gets to them. Reinforcing the information with take home items such as coloring books, handouts with literature, key chains, and other goody bag items also keeps the message fresh in their minds. There are several stations setup throughout the day to give a hands on perspective of how food gets from the farm to the table. Station topics include beef, dairy, grain, sheep/goats, bees, pork, agriculture technology, soil conservation, fruit/vegetable production, agriculture careers, and poultry. Samples of different foods where given out at some stations so the students could make a bigger connection between the food and animal or process. For example at the dairy station volunteers demonstrated making butter with the students and allowed them to samples butter they made. Also ice cream was provided for a sample and the process of making ice cream was discussed with the students. Other examples of samples given to students include beef jerky for beef discussion, salsa for vegetable product and honey for bee discussion. At the soil conservation station a demonstration of soybean production was taught to the students. During this lesson students placed a soybean in a small baggie with a paper towel and water. This process helps to show students the full process of the plant growing and then ties in with the grain production session where they learn what the soybean can be used for. During the 2019 field day a total of 295 youth and 41 adults were reached including 288 white, 24 Black, 2 Asian, and 22 Hispanic. The audience was made up of 164 males and 172 females. This turned out to be an excellent event for the community as it was able to bring numerous community leaders and farmers together to teach youth about one of the biggest industry sectors in our community, farming. Some different organizations such as Marion Co. Farm Bureau, Marion Co. Cattlemen’s Association, Marion Co. FSA, and Marion Co. NRCS also partnered with us for this field day by providing financial support or volunteers. Outcomes of the program include youth gaining knowledge about where their food comes from as well as how the food is produced. This gives them the opportunity to connect the things they see in their everyday life such as beef and dairy cows, chickens, and crops to their plate at home. Sessions such as agriculture careers also gives them some insight as to what they may want to pursue for a career in the future to give back to agriculture or be involved in production agriculture.
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