First-graders introduced to farming on Farm Day

MOSES LAKE - All the first-graders agreed the miniature horses were cute. And the ducks, although the duck that quacked and quacked was sort of scary. The goat was cute, and so was the baby calf, although it was kind of big and nobody quite dared to pet it.

The piglets were cute - but ewww, that little pig had an accident. All the first-graders in the vicinity covered their noses. Stinky pig.

But then stinky pigs are part of the farm, so it's a pretty good bet they will be part of First Grade Farm Day.

Every first-grader in the Moses Lake district spent part of Tuesday morning at Farm Day, learning some of the uses of agriculture products, peeking inside a pumpkin, touching chickens and petting sheep. The idea is to teach the first-graders a little bit about agriculture, said Tony Kern, one of Moses Lake High School's two FFA advisors.

Even in an ag town, with potato fields and irrigation systems, onion trucks and the occasional flatbed hauling apple bins, kids don't always make the connection, Kern said. "They have no idea where their food comes from." He estimated about 700 first-graders attended Farm Day.

High school agriculture students and the Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter are responsible for First Grade Farm Day, Kern said. They plan and write the presentations, prepare the props, from a pretty nice model of a working farm to live chickens, and supervise the animals. Farm Day 2013 had 17 different stations around the perimeter of the Ardell Pavilion at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

The high school students told the kids about the ingredients in a pizza, how to carve a pumpkin, where wool comes from, with live sheep, and where eggs come from, with live chickens, among others. About 95 high school students did the work, Kern said. "It's something we take tremendous pride in."

Kelsey Kasperak, Kayla Yearout and their team started with Kasperak's sheep and information about the uses of wool and mutton. One of the sheep was pregnant and cranky as a result, Kasperak said, so keeping it under control around all the little kids required using the lessons she's learned in seven years of fitting and showing competition.

Ryan Falconer, Collin Calaway, Jay Tenaglia and Aiden Gaeb went with the easy one, and built a replica of a farm, complete with pivot irrigation system. "We figured if it was something we all know about, we could do it," Tenaglia said.

The guys with the jack-o'-lanterns chose pumpkins because - because - "Sam, come here," Gerardo Martinez said.

When summoned, Sam Zavala said they chose pumpkins because - because - well, kids like pumpkins. They really like the one with its pumpkin guts spilling out, and the one with nostril holes, because they stick their fingers in the holes, Zavala said.

"They (the high school students) look forward to it. And our FFA members, they love Farm Day," Kern said. The presentations teach kids more about the subject, and also about speaking to an audience. "They get a lot more out of it than the first-graders," Kern said.