By IAIN MCMURRAY
The Progress
The Moapa Valley FFA Chapter was active throughout last week as they held their Farm Days event, one of their biggest annual community outreach activities.
This year, students from Grant Bowler Elementary in Logandale, Ute V. Perkins Elementary in Moapa and three local preschools came to the MVHS Ag Farm to go on a tour of the working farm and learn about agriculture.
A variety of different educational stations were set up to teach the kids. All of these were manned by FFA members. Each taught the visiting kids about several different components of agriculture and gave them a hands-on experience to have fun learning.
The kids were first led to a petting zoo where they could interact with different farm animals that they may have never seen before. These animals included a cow, sheep, and goats.
Next they were taken to a pumpkin patch where kids got to choose and pick their own pumpkins which had been raised on the field right there on the farm.
A greenhouse station came next where kids learned about growing plants. They made seed babies which were necklaces holding seeds that would sprout because of their body heat.
Another station taught them about where the milk that they drink comes from. Here they learned how to milk a cow by using the farm’s plastic cow. There was also a related station where they learned how to make ice cream.
A chicken station allowed the students to pet a chicken and gather their own eggs from the hens.
At a beekeeping station, they learned about pollination and why bees are so important to agriculture.
They also learned how to use beeswax to make their own chapstick.
“This was a great opportunity for us to showcase some of the things we’re doing in Ag,” said MVHS Ag Mechanics teacher Bryan Linford. “It was awesome to be able to give back to the community and see everyone’s excitement.”
Later on in the day, the Ag Farm also hosted its annual pick-a-pumpkin event. The public was welcome to come to the Ag Farm in the afternoon, take to the field and pick their own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. These pumpkins had been planted by student workers over the summer.
This year, there was a fun new addition to this event that was popular among youngsters. A barrel train had been constructed by MVHS Ag Mechanics students. Pulled behind a small John Deere tractor, the train took the kids on a loop around the field.
There were also baked goods for attendees to purchase which had been provided by the MVHS Culinary program.
The evening events were a big hit. There was a great turnout and the festivities raised $3,400 for the Ag program. Those funds will be used to pay for various FFA activities and competitions throughout the year.
“It was a great event,” said FFA Advisor Lacey Tom. “We are super thankful for the community support. And it is great to work with the Culinary and Ag Mechanics programs to make it an even better event.
Thank you to all of the FFA members and everyone else who stepped up to help.”
