North Clay FFA member Isabella Barbee showcases her bunny to a visitor.
The North Clay FFA Chapter inspires a sustainable future for the local community through a fun-filled day of learning about agriculture.
On April 30, 2024, the chapter organized a day of teaching pre-K through high school students about the importance of agriculture within its area. North Clay FFA also invited the local Community Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) and nursing homes residents to experience the world of agriculture along with them.
To greet visitors, the chapter had members bring in tractors from their own family-run farms. They showcased their equipment, in addition to advocating for farm implement safety and operations. The students and staff advised visitors as they sat inside each piece of equipment and experienced what it’s like behind the wheel of a tractor.
After all the attendees were equipped with tractor knowledge, they visited with the FFA members hosting the petting zoo portion of the experience. There was a large variety of farm and pet animals, including chicks, dogs, bunnies, lambs, pigs, goats, bottle-fed calves, cows and a donkey. The students who brought in their animals shared with other students and community members the needs of their animals as well as how to care for them and their purposes within agricultural processes.
North Clay FFA member Shelly Pierson and alumni member Mark Pierson teach students about their bottle-fed calves.
Next to the animals, the chapter had small swimming pools filled with a multitude of local farming grains. They had a pool of corn, soybeans and wheat. The younger kids enjoyed playing in the grain pools and seeing all the parts and differences of each.
To go along with the teaching segment of the day, the North Clay introduction to agriculture class created commodity posters that included four to six facts about cattle, wheat and more. These posters were taped by each animal pen and grain pool.
North Clay Elementary students playing in the grain pools.
Once the visitors got to experience both the grain and animal production sides of agriculture, they were guided toward the North Clay FFA greenhouse. The members of the chapter are very dedicated to the greenhouse at their school. They take pride in it and are tremendously delighted to share the impact of horticulture and agronomy to others through their operation.
The North Clay FFA greenhouse being displayed to elementary students.
The students in charge of the greenhouse management and production portion taught their visitors how to propagate many plants ranging from aloe vera to inch plant. They showed the process by taking the plant from its mother plant and sticking it in a new pot that is just the right size for it to take off and grow independently. They also encouraged them to understand plant maintenance and health. At the end of the greenhouse visits, the chapter sent home a free flower with each CILA home resident to take back and plant, manage and watch grow bountifully.
The North Clay FFA Chapter can say that it had an impact on the local community with its spread of agricultural literacy and initiating the importance of local agriculture.
