Moving kids closer to agriculture, farm land and natural resources was the goal of the Texas Farm Service Agency as it educated more than 750 students, teachers and volunteers during the 6th Annual Waller County Farm Bureau and Extension Ag Day.
“Today’s kids are removed further than any generation from the farm and natural resources, so an Ag Day event is essential to educating these kids,” said Cody Dennison, Waller County AgriLife Extension agent.
Throughout the day, 12 groups of students from Hempstead, Waller and Royal Independent School Districts rotated through 13 stations, including an interactive, auditory and visual learning station sponsored by FSA.
“Most of the teachers appreciate the hands-on learning styles because it keeps the students engaged,” said Dennison.
The FSA station was the brainchild of Sandra Nelius, Waller County FSA program technician, who used an interactive game show that asked questions like how many pounds of milk does a cow’s udder hold and how many people are employed by agriculture-related jobs in the United States?
The students sat on picnic tables around the television for the “Hay Now Quiz Show” — an online game created by FSA and available on the kid’s section of the agency’s website — and were urged to yell out the answers. Prizes were awarded to students who yelled the correct answer first. This year, two groups tied at 11 correctly answered questions, which is the highest score Nelius said she has seen in six years.
“It is my hope that at the end of the day, the students gained an appreciation and understanding of the impact that the American farmer has on their daily lives,” Nelius said. “Not only does the farmer provide food for them, the farmer is also credited with products like bubblegum that comes from corn syrup and jeans that are made from cotton,” she said.
— by Cassie Bable, public affairs specialist, Farm Service Agency
