Students learn about agriculture

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Shelli Morlock talks to
Eastwood students about her heffer that was born in March during a farm tour at the Martin Farm of off
Luckey Road. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

Despite the strong agricultural influence in Wood County, many young people have little or no knowledge
about the importance of farms, crops and livestock for their everyday lives.
Last week fourth graders in both the Otsego and Eastwood school districts had the opportunity to learn
about agriculture through the efforts of both FFA chapters.
Eastwood took 111 elementary students from both the Pemberville and Luckey schools to two farms on
Wednesday for its "Food for America" program. There were eight separate stations at each of
the rural Pemberville farms with a total of 54 FFA members serving at the various stations to help
educate the younger students.
Otsego held its "Fourth Grade Ag Day" session on the school campus on Friday with 10 stations,
mostly outside. There were 42 FFA members who helped educate more than 100 younger students.
The younger students rotated through the different stations throughout the day for both programs.
While there were many similarities to the two programs, each also had its distinctive characteristics.
While Otsego gathered a variety of animals together in one area outside the school, because the Eastwood
students were at the farms, they were able to see more animals with different stations for the different
species. Both programs also looked at the equipment used in modern farming.
Both Ben Thomas and Trevor Buehrer of Otsego FFA said they felt the fourth graders actually enjoyed the
day.
"This was a good chance for them to learn about agriculture," Buehrer said. "I really
enjoyed seeing them work together in the leadership and team building programs."
Thomas agreed, adding, "Most of them had never been up close to the animals or equipment. They
seemed to really enjoy being able to sit on all the equipment."
A group of fourth-grade boys had a hard time agreeing on their favorite topics. Some noted the animals,
others noted the equipment; while still others liked making the cookies and learning about food science
through the "Agriculture Bingo" event.
In addition to the agricultural-related stations, members from the CSX were on hand to provide a session
for each group on railroad safety. Other sessions focused on food science, plants and soils.
Otsego FFA alumni and recent Ohio State University graduate, Mike Hannewald brought a tractor featuring
GPS self-steering and gave a demonstration.
The Eastwood youth learned about making ice cream in a bag, along with agronomy focusing on the crops.
Animal sessions were held on sheep, dairy swine, beef and goats, all at the Martin Farm. Among the
features was information on byproducts used by the wool of the sheep. The differences between older and
newer tractors were also featured.
At the Russel Farm, the same students learned about wildlife, popcorn, small animals including rabbits
and ducks, along with poultry and horses. There was also a session on farm equipment, recycling and
litter prevention, plants and gardening.

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