3rd-Graders Discover That Some Things Just Aren't Found In School Books

By NELSON MORAIS

Staff Writer

Third-graders from almost every elementary school in Greeneville and Greene County were educated Tuesday on the wonders and details of farm life at the University of Tennessee Research & Education Center.

The occasion was the annual "Kids' Day on the Farm," a project of several farm groups in the area created to educate school children about multiple aspects of farming.

About 720 students were brought to the center to learn and enjoy. It was a picture-perfect day of pleasant spring weather and clear blue skies.

Learning Stations

Teachers and volunteer parents accompanied the young students on flatbed trailers pulled by tractors that traveled between six stations set up at the center to educate the third-graders on such things as preferred planting methods, and the difference between a heifer and a cow. Read further for the answer.

Only one county elementary school, DeBusk, did not send their third-graders to "Kids' Day on the Farm."

Steve Hale, a member of the Greene County Partnership's Agribusiness Committee, was the primary organizer.

Sponsors included Greene County Farm Bureau, the Research & Education Center, Farm Credit Services, Future Farmers of America members from the four county high schools, Greene Farmers Co-op, PET/Land-o-Sun, Greeneville and Greene County school systems, and Greene County Livestock Association.

"I think all indications are that it went smoothly," Hale said several hours after the last school bus load of kids left the center.

He added, "It was a very successful day. It's all possible through a very dedicated group of volunteers and a good staff at the Research Center." Hale served as Greene County's UT extension leader for 28 years until his retirement last summer.

Rob Ellis, current director of the center located on E. Allens Bridge Road, also helped organize the day's event.

'Little Smoother Each Year'

"Things went very well today," Ellis said. "It's only the third year ('Kids' Day on the Farm') has been held at the center, and it gets a little smoother each year."

Ellis noted, "The weather agreed with us today ... All the kids seemed to be pretty excited, and learned a few things, too. It's great to grab them at a young age and have them realize the importance of agriculture to all of us."

At the first station, Paul Hayden, soil conservationist for Greene County, gave a talk on farming equipment and planting methods.

He addressed 41 third-graders from Glenwood Elementary School and 21 students from West Pines Elementary School that shared a flatbed parked near a cultivated field.

"Wouldn't you rather be in school?" Hayden teased the students.

A resounding chorus of "NO!!" was their reply.

Hayden discussed conservation, or two-way, plows, drills (or planters) used for planting small grains and a no-till drill that is one of the most efficient ways to plant a field.

He tested the students' knowledge with questions throughout his presentation.

At the end, the third-graders on their flatbed trailer were carefully pulled by a tractor to the next station, where the theme was harvesting and foraging.

At the third station, Richard Hensley presented a display of five different plants: corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans and peanuts.

"About 25 percent of the food products at the grocery store contain corn or corn products," Hensley said.

He also showed off a switchgrass plant.

"The federal and state governments and the University of Tennessee have started an initiative to establish switchgrass in Tennessee for alternative fuels, as feed for animals and as a resting place for wild habitat birds," Hensley said.

At the next station, the students stepped down from the flatbed and began their walk through the rest of the farm tour.

They saw goats and chickens, and took turns petting piglets and cows.

A Vet Takes Charge

At one station, Dr. Doug Woolsey, a veterinarian, asked the students, "What's really unique about a cow?"

When no one guessed the answer he was seeking, he answered, "They have four stomachs" for different purposes.

Woolsey showed off a small magnet he said he sometimes gives to cows to swallow to help collect wires and other metal pieces they inadvertently pick up while grazing and then deposit along with rocks in one of their stomachs.

"God made the cow different," Woolsey explained.

At the end of his talk, a student raised her hand and said, "So, why does a cow have four stomachs?"

Woolsey replied, "Well, I just spent half an hour explaining that." He then briefly went over the four stomachs' distinct purposes: storing bugs, serving as a "trash can," making what they eat into smaller particles, and digesting.

As the students walked on to a barn to see the piglets and lambs, Woolsey told a reporter, "The day's going well. The students (overall) are a lot more attentive than last year."

Marla Ellis, Rob Ellis' wife, stood in a pen with a goat and described the functions of "one of the oldest domesticated animals we have."

When she asked the students if they had any questions, one boy raised his hand and said, "My uncle has a goat. He always chases me."

Petting The Cow

Betty Love allowed some of the students to pet a cow through the bars in a pen.

She explained that cows are called "heifers" until they have their first calf, at which point they are called "cows."

Students also got a chance to eat pure, hand-churned butter and sample pieces of hamburgers made from meat slaughtered locally.

Donna Benton, a third-grade teacher at Glenwood, said of the day's event, "It's a well-planned out field trip. They (the organizers) kind of got it down to a science."