Students visit farming operation
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 31, 2017 8:00 AM
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Ethan Rivers, 7, from Carver Elementary takes a turn at milking a model cow during the "We dig it" agricultural event at Odom farms Thursday.
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Payton Lane, left, gives students from Carver Elementary School a look at a year-old hog during the "We dig it" event at Odom Farms Thursday.
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Taylor Smith ,left, of Eastern Wayne High School allows a group of 2nd graders to handle different types of soil that are encountered while farming in eastern North Carolina during the "We dig it" agricultural event at Odom farms Thursday.
J.R. Odom had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.
And on that farm he had a goat.
And a pig. And a cow.
And nine other stations representing agricultural products on Thursday, as part of "We Dig It: Ag Day."
This is the fourth year he and wife, Emily, opened up their Rosewood farm to nearly 1,500 second-graders from around the county representing Wayne County Public Schools and homeschools.
Jaliwah Garner of Edgewood Community Developmental School came to see the animals and flowers, her teacher, Gunnessa Griebe said.
Which animal did she most to want to see?
"The cow," Jaliwah said, a smile breaking on her face as she offered up her own impression of the sound it makes.
"We talked about farming, what kind of animals we would see on the farm," Ms. Griebe of the advance preparation before her students boarded the bus for the field trip. "And plants. We're planting tulips in our classroom in little pots.
"They have been very excited about today."
Students spent time at each station, with FFA students from area high schools giving presentations on a variety of topics.
At the soybean and corn booth, students plunged their hands into kiddie pools filled with each of the items, searching for a laminated card bearing a picture of a product derived from either of the two products.
Madison Sullivan, a Spring Creek sophomore, talked about food groups at the nutrition station. Her demonstration included a large spinning wheel, with students allowed to take a turn. Wherever the arrow landed, they could then guess what food group the item belonged in.
"It's a good experience for the younger kids to learn, I think," she said. "It's really cool to learn about the machinery and fruits and vegetables."
Lorenda Overman of sponsoring Wayne County Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Ranchers said she has as much fun as the students.
"I come out mainly to play," she said with a laugh. "I love to watch the teenagers, the FFA students teaching the second-graders. I love to watch how attentive the students are."
"It's leadership training (for the high schoolers) and education for the little kids," she said. "It's just a symbiotic relationship."