SWCD farm tour hopes to keep farming in the forefront
Mt. Hope Elementary teacher Jay Custer stood, amazed, as he watched a miniscule number of hands go up when Chuck Reynolds asked his class how many students live on a farm, during the 46th annual Tom Graham Fifth Grade Farm Tour on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Teaching at an Amish school, Custer figured the number of his 21 students to raise their hands would be at least double figures. Instead, three hands went up, much to his surprise.
“I was amazed,” said Custer. “I expected a lot more. It appears as though we are losing our agricultural background, because when Chuck asked the kids how many of their parents lived on a farm, almost all of the hands went up.”
Indeed, the number of farms in Holmes County has dwindled, although farming remains the biggest occupation in the county. However, Reynolds said that the number of youth living on farms today compared to their parents has dropped dramatically, which is why the Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District’s attempts to educate children on the importance of agriculture and conservation through the farm tour is so important.
“We’ve seen a huge change in one generation of kids,” said Reynolds, who works for the ODNR Division of Soil and Water Resources.
“When I first moved into the area 28 years ago, about 80 percent of the Amish population lived on farms and were involved in agriculture. Now it is closer to 20 percent. We’ve seen one big flip-flop in one generation, but because we still see a lot of farmland in the area, it is something that we don’t really think about.”
Mt. Hope wasn’t an anomaly. Wise Elementary was the same. So was Millersburg and Killbuck.
As agricultural homesteads dwindle, the importance of keeping alive the themes of agriculture and conservation in Holmes County become all the more important.
Reynolds said that based on the past generation, we are one generation closer to forgetting about how important the farming industry is in the county, and to the nation.
“It’s something that a lot of kids don’t think a lot about today,” said Reynolds of agriculture. “This day gives us a chance to stress how great a need there is for agriculture, and how our county can play a vital role in continuing to be a major contributor in the agricultural world today.”
Harold Neuenschwander, a member of the SWCD board, said that it is thrilling to see so many county youth gather together and learn exactly how important agriculture is for the county.
“I really think this is one of the most important things we do each year, because it deals directly with the future of agriculture,” said Neuenschwander. “Many of these kids have not been on a farm, and this is an opportunity that many kids don’t ever get elsewhere. They have a chance to learn a great deal, and we are fortunate to be able to provide them with this opportunity.”
The farm tour, which took place at Tom Miller’s One-O-One Ranch on CR 168 near Trail, is set up so groups of students can go from station to station to learn various aspects of farming and conservation.
Stations included wildlife, where ODNR Division of Wildlife members Jamey Graham and Dan McMillen spoke to students about various species of animals; farming, with Holmes SWCD members Dean Slates and Joe Christner talking about grazing techniques; Reynolds and Terry Scott, USDA Natural Resources Conservation expert, talked to students about soil erosion; Darlene Finzer, Farm Safety 4 Just Kids coordinator, discussed farm safety with the students; forestry was covered by Dave Woodring, natural resources teacher at East Holmes Schools, and Randy Starner, an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist; and FFA students from West Holmes and Hiland provided the most entertaining stop of the day, where students made soil snacks, where different tasty treats signified different parts of what makes up soil.
The students are given guidelines with information left out, so they can follow along with the presenters and fill in the necessary information, making it a little less overwhelming than trying to takes notes from scratch.
With all of the stations completed, the students gathered for lunch before heading back to their respective schools, hopefully a lot more enriched and knowledgeable than they were before they arrived that morning.
“It’s a real learning experience that really sticks with the kids,” said Neuenschwander. “I know a lot of the teachers say they remember when they took the tour when they were fifth-graders. My kids still talk about things they experienced there. This is about creating memories and instilling knowledge, and I think every kid here takes away something that they have learned today.”
Students will now write essays, and each fifth-grade teacher will pick their top two efforts. They in turn will present those to the SWCD staff, who will choose the top three, with the winner being honored at the annual SWCD annual banquet later this year.
“It’s a lot of fun to watch the kids figure things out,” said Rebecca Chamberlain, West Holmes FFA treasurer, who was helping with the soil snacks. “As an FFA group, this is something that we look forward to each year because it gets us outside, and we get to teach kids the value of agriculture in our community. Our hope is that we can get these kids excited about conservation and about FFA. We are all here trying to plant a seed that will hopefully grow. Some of these kids really get into it.”
“This is a good learning experience for the kids because they get out of the classroom, and I think because it is unique, it tends to sink in better,” said Custer. “Initially the kids are excited because it is a field trip. After it’s all over, I think they find that they really enjoyed themselves, and hopefully they have all learned a little bit about how important agriculture is to us all.”
Teaching at an Amish school, Custer figured the number of his 21 students to raise their hands would be at least double figures. Instead, three hands went up, much to his surprise.
“I was amazed,” said Custer. “I expected a lot more. It appears as though we are losing our agricultural background, because when Chuck asked the kids how many of their parents lived on a farm, almost all of the hands went up.”
Indeed, the number of farms in Holmes County has dwindled, although farming remains the biggest occupation in the county. However, Reynolds said that the number of youth living on farms today compared to their parents has dropped dramatically, which is why the Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District’s attempts to educate children on the importance of agriculture and conservation through the farm tour is so important.
“We’ve seen a huge change in one generation of kids,” said Reynolds, who works for the ODNR Division of Soil and Water Resources.
“When I first moved into the area 28 years ago, about 80 percent of the Amish population lived on farms and were involved in agriculture. Now it is closer to 20 percent. We’ve seen one big flip-flop in one generation, but because we still see a lot of farmland in the area, it is something that we don’t really think about.”
Mt. Hope wasn’t an anomaly. Wise Elementary was the same. So was Millersburg and Killbuck.
As agricultural homesteads dwindle, the importance of keeping alive the themes of agriculture and conservation in Holmes County become all the more important.
Reynolds said that based on the past generation, we are one generation closer to forgetting about how important the farming industry is in the county, and to the nation.
“It’s something that a lot of kids don’t think a lot about today,” said Reynolds of agriculture. “This day gives us a chance to stress how great a need there is for agriculture, and how our county can play a vital role in continuing to be a major contributor in the agricultural world today.”
Harold Neuenschwander, a member of the SWCD board, said that it is thrilling to see so many county youth gather together and learn exactly how important agriculture is for the county.
“I really think this is one of the most important things we do each year, because it deals directly with the future of agriculture,” said Neuenschwander. “Many of these kids have not been on a farm, and this is an opportunity that many kids don’t ever get elsewhere. They have a chance to learn a great deal, and we are fortunate to be able to provide them with this opportunity.”
The farm tour, which took place at Tom Miller’s One-O-One Ranch on CR 168 near Trail, is set up so groups of students can go from station to station to learn various aspects of farming and conservation.
Stations included wildlife, where ODNR Division of Wildlife members Jamey Graham and Dan McMillen spoke to students about various species of animals; farming, with Holmes SWCD members Dean Slates and Joe Christner talking about grazing techniques; Reynolds and Terry Scott, USDA Natural Resources Conservation expert, talked to students about soil erosion; Darlene Finzer, Farm Safety 4 Just Kids coordinator, discussed farm safety with the students; forestry was covered by Dave Woodring, natural resources teacher at East Holmes Schools, and Randy Starner, an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist; and FFA students from West Holmes and Hiland provided the most entertaining stop of the day, where students made soil snacks, where different tasty treats signified different parts of what makes up soil.
The students are given guidelines with information left out, so they can follow along with the presenters and fill in the necessary information, making it a little less overwhelming than trying to takes notes from scratch.
With all of the stations completed, the students gathered for lunch before heading back to their respective schools, hopefully a lot more enriched and knowledgeable than they were before they arrived that morning.
“It’s a real learning experience that really sticks with the kids,” said Neuenschwander. “I know a lot of the teachers say they remember when they took the tour when they were fifth-graders. My kids still talk about things they experienced there. This is about creating memories and instilling knowledge, and I think every kid here takes away something that they have learned today.”
Students will now write essays, and each fifth-grade teacher will pick their top two efforts. They in turn will present those to the SWCD staff, who will choose the top three, with the winner being honored at the annual SWCD annual banquet later this year.
“It’s a lot of fun to watch the kids figure things out,” said Rebecca Chamberlain, West Holmes FFA treasurer, who was helping with the soil snacks. “As an FFA group, this is something that we look forward to each year because it gets us outside, and we get to teach kids the value of agriculture in our community. Our hope is that we can get these kids excited about conservation and about FFA. We are all here trying to plant a seed that will hopefully grow. Some of these kids really get into it.”
“This is a good learning experience for the kids because they get out of the classroom, and I think because it is unique, it tends to sink in better,” said Custer. “Initially the kids are excited because it is a field trip. After it’s all over, I think they find that they really enjoyed themselves, and hopefully they have all learned a little bit about how important agriculture is to us all.”
Published: October 3, 2011
