As harvest season wraps up among most farmers in East Tennessee, locally we had some generous volunteers to host some hands-on educational exhibits at one of our local elementary schools on October 20.
Luttrell Elementary welcomed the 42 volunteers to teach the students about a variety of agricultural practices.
As students arrived on the baseball green, you could feel the excitement as they spotted the farm animals and activities. The Farm Bureau representatives, Cody Brown, Derrick Williams, Ava Padgett, Lawana Wilkerson, Logan Browne, Ashley Mike and special visitor, Levi, welcomed each class and presented each teacher and student with educational material to take home with them.
Olivia Howard with Union County 4-H brought the well-known “Bessy Cow” and taught the children about honeybees, pollination and the importance thereof.
Myra Miller of Union County Health Department displayed a wide variety of vegetables exhibiting the importance of nutrition and different vitamins and minerals that each “grow your own” item provided and how they help your body.
Sarah Stokley, an intern at UT Extenison, brought a Nubian goat, which was very friendly and enjoyed meeting so many new friends.
A John Deere tractor was displayed by Jordan, Leyton and Tim Campbell, which provided a very visual demonstration of a traditional piece of farm machinery recognizable to the youths.
Ray Headrick brought two goats which were relished by the kids.
TN Department of Forestry representatives Keith Stiner, Jason Brantley, Ray Butler and Andrew Farmer brought a giant Smokey Bear demo and advocated the importance of fire and burn safety, forest fire prevention, forestry practices and the importance of knowing your address for 911 purposes.
Collette Russell brought her two 4-H show horses with help from Leila Hilliard and Morgan Voyels. These equines were very friendly and well-behaved.
Thompson Tender Beef producers Corey and Adam Thompson brought a beef cow and two calves. The kids had so many questions for these fellows, including “how do those tiny cow legs hold up all that huge body?” They taught a variety of facts including chewing a cud and how roughage and the cattle digestion system works.
The Boucher family, Zeeva, Miranda, Jackson and Stefanie, brought a 4-H laying hen and gave an in-depth lesson on poultry and eggs.
Jessee Family Farm exhibited a corral of 4-H show pigs. Luttrell students themselves, Logan and Landon Jessee shared fun hog facts with their fellow classmates. The Jessee Farm is a family affair, and so was farm day with the boys’ parents Sidney Jr. and Melinda toting along little brother Leaton and grandad Sidney Sr. They asked the students questions like, “Who had sausage or bacon for breakfast this morning?” and “where did it come from?” It is surprising to see the number of kids who have never seen a farm animal and have no idea where their food comes from.
Horace Maynard FFA sponsor, John Fugate, designated FFA members Lakin Booker, Spencer Cox, Cayden Walker and Jacob Heiskell to teach corn husking and shelling as well as demonstrate the dairy cow milk simulator, giving the hands-on experience to imitate milking a cow.
Trevor Jones of Jones Farm and Livestock brought two horses. His son, Trent, gave a roping demo which was very interesting to the up-and-coming cowpokes of Luttrell.
Hickle Farm had a variety of ducks, goats, vegetables and even a livestock dog. Joe, Sue and Milah Hickle enjoyed getting questions from the kids and leaving them with some farm exposure.
This is a complex educational event for the youths of Union County. It is admirable that these fine folks took time from their busy schedules to leave an imprint of agriculture in the hands of these children. If they don’t continue a sustainable way of living, the family farm will be a dying tradition.
Union County Farm Bureau planned the 28th Annual Union County Farm Day and Ag in the Classroom activities. Board members and Farm Bureau staff plan the event each year to rotate to one of the county’s five elementary schools. This makes it possible for each student in the county, ideally, to get to attend at least one time.
If you feel led to volunteer next fall, reach out to Ashley Mike at ampadgett3@gmail.com or 865-660-1274. Thank you to all volunteers, students, teachers and administration at Luttrell Elementary for making this such a fun learning experience. See ya next year, Maynardville Elementary!