Farm Field Days connects students with agriculture

HIGHLAND — Close to 2,300 elementary students have converged on the Utah County equestrian park over the past few days — taking part in the 15-year ritual of Farm Field Days.

The event is put on by the Utah County Farm Bureau with the assistance of several local farmers who take time away from their own farms to work with the kids.

"We have found that kids are getting more and more removed from agriculture, maybe even as far as four or five generations away from actually experiencing it firsthand," said Rex Larsen, a member of the Utah Farm Bureau board of directors. "Because of that, they are getting disconnected with the source of their food and the fibers of their clothing. So we feel it is important to bring them back and give them experience where they can see that connection."

At Field Days the kids get a firsthand look at many different aspects of farming and how that translates into actual goods and services. The second-graders rotate through informative demonstrations about milk, beef, and grain production as well as a sheep-herding demonstration, an animal farm and a look at beekeeping.

"I liked the (wheat) seeds because we got to eat some," said Ben Sessions, a 7-year-old from American Fork. "Learning about the bees was cool too."

Part of the second-grade curriculum is to learn about products and services in the community. Educators at the event see the hands-on instruction by farmers and high school students, who are members of the Future Farmers of America club, as a great way to bring to life the lessons they have in class.

"A lot of these kids are city kids," said Kim Hawvermale, who brought her second grade class from Ridgeline Elementary School on the field trip. "Many of them don't know that cows make milk, or they do know but don't fully understand it. So you bring them out here and a little light bulb comes on and it becomes much more real to them."

The Utah Farm Bureau estimates that they've had close to 200,000 students come to Farmer Field Days over the years, and occasionally they've even seen teachers at the event who participated as students years ago.

Larsen said that they hope the knowledge continues to be spread so that the younger generations understand that there are healthful and safe products produced right here in Utah.

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