“Ag in the Schools” lives up to its name

“If you ask a child where milk comes from, the answer will probably be ‘from the grocery store,’” observes Vicky Singlestad, organizer of a local annual program known as “Ag in the Schools.”

On Tuesday, April 1, nearly 150 Waseca area third-graders from Sacred Heart, Team Academy and Hartley schools learned more about the “right” answer to the question when four area farmers gave brief presentations regarding what it takes to raise crops, dairy cattle, pigs and sheep–and equally importantly–how that work relates to children’s everyday lives.

The event took place on the Hartley school campus and began more than 30 years ago when Singlestad chose to share information about the hog operation run by herself and husband Scott at the time: Their daughter, now in her 40s, was a third-grader that first year. 

Singlestad continues to organize the schedule, and now works with Waseca County Farm Bureau and the Ag Business committee of the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce. Students attend the informational sessions and are provided afterward with gift bags of activities and products.

Once all the third-graders arrive at Hartley, they are divided into groups and spend about two hours rotating between presentations.

“They’re the fluffiest animals I’ve met,” observed Alistair Gilmore as he petted a days-old lamb brought by area farmers Gary and Tina Schoenfeld. In addition to having the two lambs, the Schoenfelds projected photos of their family performing typical tasks including daily care and shearing. Gary also showed the group the tool used to cut wool off the sheep. 

Among interesting information he and Tina shared was the fact that, thanks to natural oils, wool is so waterproof that even if sheep stand in the rain, the water will never reach their skin. Also, as “ruminants,” they have teeth only on the bottom half of their mouths.

Though he had no fluffy animals, New Richland area farmer Leon Schoenrock displayed two live plants in special growing cases.  He shared information revealing soybean oil can be used in ways ranging from aviation fuel to foods. Its edible forms include not only oil but flour–and because it is higher in protein than wheat flour, products made with soy flour are often sought after by vegetarians to supplement their diets. 

After students brought up the topic of ladybugs, Schoenrock mentioned the insects eat aphids and pointed out that, after harvest, “the ladybugs call it quits” in the fields and “start moving into people’s houses.”

Todd Selvik, who farms in Blooming Grove Township, shared a slide show and told students about raising hogs. He highlighted some of the technological features built into facilities where they are kept, including high-efficiency filters for drinking water, sprinklers to cool them if they get too warm, curtains which are raised and lowered automatically to adjust the temperature, and even a generator which ensures the delivery of food, water and ventilation continue even if commercially provided electricity should go out.

Three generations of the Cassie and Jon Eldeen family shared information about operating a dairy farm. Indoors, third-graders watched a video with a narrator who is about their age to see what the facilities and practices are like for raising and milking dairy cattle. Waseca County Dairy Princess Katie Eldeen and her sister Megan Steffl provided information that included it requires 21 pounds of milk to make a single pound of butter, that cattle are milked twice a day and in that time produce roughly 90 glasses of milk, and even that, in most cases, milk is safely processed and on store shelves within about 48 hours of having been produced.

After the information session, students walked outside to see and pet a young heifer calf, Pebbles, who was in a trailer in the parking lot. Watching over Pebbles were Cassie and Jon Eldeen and their young grandson, Porter. 

Singlestad expressed pleasure that the event went smoothly, stating “It’s fun to see the excitement on the children’s faces, and the presenters are glad to have a chance to tell kids about what they do.”

She went on to say all parties were glad to be chipping away at the “disconnect” which seems to be growing larger as fewer and fewer people live on farms. “Kids don’t know where their food comes from,” she observed. “This [event] helps children see farmers are working all the time to grow the products they use every day.”