Students Get Up Close to Ag

Students Get Up Close to Ag
Tentatively, Lexi Chrissey reached
out and touched the side of a Holstein cow,
tethered to a tree outside her elementary
school.
“That was cool!” the kindergarten
student said a few minutes after she patted
the side of a cow for the first time.
For Lexi, and hundreds of other
students at Grandview Elementary school
in Westmoreland County, a weeklong event
hosted by the county Farm Bureau was their
first real brush with agriculture.
Members of Westmoreland County
Farm Bureau, with help from Derry FFA
students, hosted “Ag is Everywhere,” to
help young children understand the daily
influence that agriculture has on their lives.
The event was the brainchild of
Gretchen Winklosky, vice president of
Westmoreland County Farm Bureau.
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chapter, Winklosky wanted to make sure
young children were getting exposed to
agriculture. Previously the FFA had given
demonstrations to children as part of a
classroom exercise, but Winklosky and other
Farm Bureau members wanted to do more.
“We decided to take it to the next
level,” she said.
All told, 640 students attended the
weeklong event.
Ag is Everywhere, which was held for
the first time in May, took students out of
their classroom for part of the day, and gave
them a hands-on introduction to agriculture.
Each day during the school week, students
from each grade level were given the chance
to see sheep shearing, pet a cow, plant
flowers and learn about the byproducts
created from agriculture.
Elementary students spent time at each
station, learning lessons from high school
students who volunteered to be part of the
program. Each station reinforced how much
agriculture impacts their lives.
At the horticulture station, children
learned about the edible parts of plants,
like the roots of carrots, or the seeds of
corn. Kids also had the chance to plant a
marigold to take home.
Amber Mazzeo, a high school
student who led the horticulture station,
said the younger students were active
and interested throughout the lesson.
“They asked a lot of questions,”
she said.
Hunter Smith gets a flower to take home as part of
the “Ag is Everywhere” event held at his school.
Michelle Banks, who teaches
kindergarten at Grandview, said students do
have some exposure to agriculture through
lesson plans. But, the Ag is Everywhere
event is the first time that kids have received
an up close look at farming, she said.
“This is amazing for them,” she said.
“They are making connections.”
Students also had the chance to interact
with farm animals, perhaps for the first time.
Students were quizzed on the parts of
a dairy cow, and learned about the care that
goes into raising the animal.
Looking over the interaction between
kids, and agriculture, Winklosky already
knows this will be an event Westmoreland
County Farm Bureau will host next year.
“This is the direction we have to go,”
she said. “We are giving students great
information.”
Keystone Country
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