Alumni members Donny and Kim Thompson make pancakes.
The American Farm Bureau Federation is a major supporter of FFA. It has many programs that advocate for agriculture by teaching youth and adults about the processes and information that go into farming and ranching. These programs have exciting hands-on activities focused on maintaining learners’ attention.
A few times a year, the Madison County Farm Bureau reaches out to its local FFA chapters about using its MAC Trailer. It’s the chapter’s way of saying “thank you” for the organization’s support throughout the year. This time, the Sugar-Salem FFA Chapter taught a second-grade class about wheat, dairy, beef and water.
Students milk the Madison County Farm Bureau’s cow, Maggie.
Members planned hour-long rotations that included hands-on activities, allowing them to share their experiences with farms or animals. The first rotation was about beef, and Twylie Blaser taught about the types of cows, the cuts of meat, the byproducts of cows and more. The second covered water rotation, where Brandon Little taught about water’s necessity to agriculture. He also taught about the purpose of dams and the different types of watering that can happen on farms.
The third rotation was all about dairy, and James Little taught about the different types of dairy cows, how to milk a cow and the products of dairy. The activities for this rotation included milking Maggie (pictured above) and making butter for the next rotation.
“It’s so exciting to see the students get excited about milking Maggie and when they open their container and see butter in it,” says Little. “They always act so proud and accomplished doing something new.”
The last rotation covered wheat. Kaydance Meikle taught students about how wheat is grown and its products. Then, they got to grind their own wheat into flour, which alumni members Kim and Donny Thompson made into pancakes. The butter made earlier in the day was also eaten with the pancakes.
Kaydance Meikle (left) uses “The Big Book of Wheat” to teach the second grade students.
The Farm Bureau is a great resource for anyone looking to be an agricultural advocate in schools, social media and daily interactions. For more ideas about how your chapter can be an agricultural advocate, read more FFA in the USA articles here.
