Farm City Days show Washington County students a day on the farm
Some of the cows at Hartline Valley Farms on Wednesday in the free stall barn. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Kids learning about the milking process of the cows at Hartline Valley Farms on Wednesday. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Jamey Rauch teaches kids about cows' nutrition and how their food is processed. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Some of the cows at Hartline Valley Farms on Wednesday in the free stall barn. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Kids learning about the milking process of the cows at Hartline Valley Farms on Wednesday. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
Jamey Rauch teaches kids about cows' nutrition and how their food is processed. (Photo by Sophie Wheeler)
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MARIETTA – Washington Soil and Water Conservation District held its 28th annual Farm City Day at Hartline Valley Farms this week, giving kids the opportunity to learn about agriculture and the work done on the farm.
On Wednesday, there were 140 students from Waterford, Frontier and Beverly Center Elementary.
Sandy Lahmers, with WSWCD, said they want to show kids where food and animal products come from while also focusing on educational standards. Lahmers said it’s important to give the kids hands-on experience, "you can tell them a bustle of corn weighs 52 pounds, but that doesn't mean anything to them. We want to show them what that means."
Lahmers said they show the kids the process from start to finish, getting to see calves and learning what the cows eat, milking and caring to reusing manure for fertilizer for crops.
Kathy Davis explained to kids how agricultural products show up in everyday life. From cotton in clothes, eggs and milk for breakfast, and baseball gloves to show the kids where products from the farm go, she said.
Josh Wick took the kids on a hayride while explaining the different equipment used every day on the farm, and what the equipment is used for.
Education Specialist, Alexis Coffman, explained the milking process of the cows and how milk is treated for sale. Coffman said it's important to remember the roots of where we come from and that everything we use every day comes from the farm.
Hannah Swope, has been with WSWCD for six years and participated in Farm City Day for the past five years. She shows the kids macrovertebrates, small freshwater animals such as mayflies and crayfish, that act as "biological water quality indicators, that can be used to determine if the water quality is clean or has been impacted by pollution based on what’s living there," she said.
Swope said she has a passion for education and teaching kids and adults, "I am a very hands-on learner, and a lot of kids don’t get that experience. Seeing the kids passing the animals around and seeing and learning about them hands on, I think that's what really drives me."
Lahmers said "because every generation gets further away from the farms, and they don't know where things come from. We want to show them and give them a better understanding on the importance of farming."
Sophie Wheeler can be reached at swheeler@newsandsentinel.com