Ag School Days

Each year, our SWCD office works together with the Noble office to hold Ag School Days for about 350 3rd graders from Guernsey and Noble counties. Its held at the research station near Belle Valley (not far from our farm). The kids get to fish, learn about healthy streams, soil characteristics, livestock production, electric safety, how chickens are raised, forestry issues, wildlife of Ohio, and generally see how farming effects their daily lives.
They get to hold lambs while learning how sheep are raised. At my station, Ed shears a sheep while I explain how and why it's done, and then the kids get a quick lesson in how the wool gets from the greasy, smelly stuff in their hands to finished clothing.
Its' a lot of fun, and the kids really seem to enjoy it. We get the greatest letters and pictures back from the kids later. Most of them mention fishing and holding the lambs as their favorite things.