Calhoun County third graders take in ag education

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Left: Third graders get into looking for insects that can be found in stored grain. - Staff photos by Carolyn Rost

May 29, 2003 -- For at least one day in May, third graders in Calhoun County get to have classes outside. And, the subject matter all has to do with agriculture, presented by volunteers of various ag-related groups/associations.

Ag Day was May 20 at the Moreman Community Gin where various stations were set up to inform the students on topics such as: how/where milk comes from (a dairy cow hooked to a "see-through" milking machine); how different farm equipment works and why it is used; and, what crops are grown in Calhoun County.

Information presented at some of the mini-sessions explained the different soils and what grows in which types; by-products and how they affect the environment; aquiculture (complete with "hands on" contact with a crawfish); and how insects interact with grains.

This is the fifth year Ag Day has been made available to the third graders, and most credit was given to Dan Yanta, a volunteer who helped win the first grant that encouraged other volunteers to be a part of the educational day in May.

County Extension Agents Zan Matthies and Adriana Whitwell helped organize the day, along with local farmers and ranchers who were eager to share their knowledge and see the childrens' reactions.

Farmer David Hahn even gave the students bolls of cotton as souvenirs of their day in the country. Natural Resources Conservation Service team leader Leroy Mikeska assisted his group by explaining the differences in the soil, among other things.

As if the outside classrooms aren't enough, volunteers bring a lunch for the children to enjoy once they have completed the various stations of knowledge.

While many elementary school children may still believe milk and eggs come from the local grocery store, children in Calhoun County are more informed. We would just love to hear what they tell their parents after the day in the country, and how they explained agriculture!

Above: Dr. Roy Parker, a specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension, provides samples of corn to teach how insects in stored grain can have some good, but also some bad, effects on the grain. Parker detailed how farmers must deal with the pests. - Staff photos by Carolyn Rost Below: Dennis Carr with the Mobile Dairy Classroom explains how the milk we buy in the grocery store first comes from a cow on the farm. The kids drink in the information. - Staff photos by Carolyn Rost

Right: Calhoun County farmer David Hahn supplies the students with souvenir bolls of cotton. - Staff photos by Carolyn Rost Right: John O'Connell, Calhoun County Extension agent-marine, points out his lessons with a fishing rod. - Staff photos by Carolyn Rost