Farm News, IA
09-21-07
Students learn about life on the farm at Clay County Fair
By Renae Vander Schaaf, Farm News staff writer
Casey Larson and Tom O'Hara review their lists of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources as they learn about energy agriculture at the Ag
Learning Center at the Clay County Fair.
It comes as no surprise to many that the number of children growing up on a
farm is declining. As the population continues to become more urban there are
even fewer children who have family living on a farm to visit throughout the year.
With farms becoming more specialized and with new technology appearing on
the farm, visiting the Ag Learning Center at the Clay County Fair is an experience
for children who are unfamiliar with farming as well as for those who grew up on
a farm.
The Ag Learning Center was a popular place to visit at the Clay County Fair.
It is an Iowa State University project that gives school-age children the
opportunity to have a glimpse of what is happening on Iowa farms.
Students from South Clay Schools in Gillette Grove heard ISU’s Dennis DeWitt
explain about beef production. DeWitt told of the electronic ear tag that cattle
have which would help track animals in case a there was a disease outbreak in
the United States.
Words like “geothermal” and “biomass” provoked thinking on the students part as
they learned about energy agriculture. ISU’s Earl McAlexander explained why
wind turbines were on top of the hills and how ethanol comes from a renewable
source.
Students showed excitement at getting a close-up view of bees working in a hive.
Students from Fairview Elementary School in Spencer listened as honey
producer Larry Boernsen, of Ocheyedan, explained the important work the bees
do in pollinating Iowa’s crops. Pictures of worker and queen bees showed the
difference between the two as Boernsen described their distinct roles in honey
production.
The children’s minds were broadened as they viewed displays of wind turbines
generating electricity to the farm, solar powered pumps providing electricity to
water livestock, and seeing farm equipment up close.
If that wasn’t enough, the Sundholm Environmental Education Center is just a
hop and a skip away. Two cabins built in the early 1950’s were donated by Ed
and Agnes Sundholm from Albert City. The Clay County Conservation Board
takes an active role in this project. Landscaping around the cabin encourages the
mind to picture a natural prairie setting. Inside the cabins are various displays
allowing the students from the Johnson School in Spencer to get immersed in
nature up close with baby quail hatching in an incubator, a butterfly house, and
displays of birds challenge the students to match the song with the bird.
The Ag-Learning Center has been successful in exciting students about
agriculture. Their hours spent at the diverse stations introduce them to many
aspects of agriculture they would not learn in a book or classroom.
Dickens’ student Mac Hanson sentiment, “I’m enjoying my day,”î was echoed by
many of the third and fourth grade students attending the field day.