Why we do what we do

Posted: 6/20/2011

Posted By:  Sarah Sample

Last week I took 17 day care goers on a field trip. Their big green van followed me to two farms.  Our first stop was near Hartford at Dennis Steinke’s farm.  I knew it was likely that these kids had never visited a farm.  Having grown up on a farm, it was an eye opening experience for me as well to see how these kids reacted to things on the farm, I just assume it is common for everyone to experience.  The first thing the kids fixated on?  Mud. They were all a leery of it, even the boys, to my surprise and the teacher’s relief!  Next, the Steinke family’s dogs caught their attention, as did the 4 wheeler.  These little things that I never thought would be new to them were – the dogs racing the 4 wheeler is a common sight at my house as is the mud, but both were new things to these kids!  We saw pigs, cattle and fed a bottle calf at the Steinke farm. They wanted to pet every critter they saw from the pigs to the feeder steers. The highlight of that stop, however, was feeding the bottle calf.

Our next adventure took us to Lynn Boadwine’s dairy near Baltic.  Lynn talked to the kids about different dairy products they may have in their own home and how those products get to their home from the dairy.  I had to laugh when one of the kids told him that cows weigh only 100 lbs!  We showed them the parlor and the feed lane of the dairy, plus the baby calves. They were so eager to pet the cows and even wanted to try their hand at milking. After a half hour at each place, we headed home. I bet their parents get a good education on the ins and outs of farming that evening!

Events on a farm always remind me of why we do what we do here at Ag United. Connecting consumer to field and farmer so that they know where their food comes from is essential in our world. People want to know they are getting the healthiest best food for their family, and that it is produced in the best way possible.