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Agriculture Show and Tell
09/08/2011
by Gary Truitt

Learning about agriculture took on a new meaning for a group of Hendricks County, Indiana elementary students on Thursday. It is not every day that tractors, combines, sprayers, and dozens of other pieces of farm equipment fill the parking lots of the White Oak and Maple Elementary Schools in Avon, IN. But over 30 Hendricks County farmers brought their equipment to the school to help teach students about what it takes to produce their food. Angie Williams coordinated the project and told HAT this was a way to showcase modern farming to non-farm students, "Most of them have never been on a farm before. They see tractors in the fields behind the subdivisions, but have never been up close to one." She said, not only was there big equipment on display, but also educational displays about biotechnology and renewable fuels.

This is part of an ongoing program that, instead of bringing students to the farm, brings the farm to the students. Other such events have showcased livestock production. The popularity of the program is growing, with parents approaching school officials requesting that the program be brought to their school. Williams said teachers incorporate agriculture into the curriculum throughout the school year and that test results indicate students gain and retain a greater understanding of agriculture.

Jim Laufmiller, President of Hendricks County Farm Bureau, which sponsors the program, said the area farmers volunteer their time and equipment because they know the value of giving the public a better understanding of agriculture. While the students had a lot of fun climbing on the equipment, Lauffmiller says the experience will have some long-lasting benefits, "I think these students will go home tonight and be talking with mom and dad and suspect this won't be the only night they talk about it."

Representatives from Boone, Elkhart, and Switzerland Counties were on hand to observe with the idea of replicating this program in their counties.

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