"Meat the Future”
By: Jenilee Godsey, Twin Creeks Extension District Youth Agriculture Agent
Did you know cheeseburgers were grown in Kansas? Approximately forty-five 5th grade students from Norton learned this fun fact, and so much more, during the Farm-2-Table Series held over the last couple of months!
If you keep up-to-date with my columns, it is no secret that food industry knowledge is a favorite of mine to discuss. And, the goal behind the Farm-2-Table Series was just that – to teach our youth about the food on their tables, clothes on their backs and the agriculture that surrounds them each day.
Over the course of 8 sessions participants learned about some very important agriculture topics including: General Ag Facts, The Importance of Soil, Kansas Crops, Dairy, Poultry, Fruit & Vegetable Production, Livestock Production and the Cheeseburgers Grown in Kansas. Once a week for eight weeks, we visited 5th-grade students during school at the Eisenhower Elementary School.
Throughout our series we completed a variety of educational activities, enjoyed a number of healthy snacks and learned so many fun agriculture facts! Participants were able to make their own butter, plant seeds in a hydroponics unit, hatch baby chicks, make a sourdough pizza starter, create their own livestock brand on an ear tag keychain, test water infiltration rates in different types of soil and more. Additionally, we enjoyed some tasty snacks such as soil horizon pudding cups and our very own version of “pig feed” trail mix. To wrap-up our series, we celebrated with a cheeseburger grand finale – which included a locally grown hamburger and a lot of knowledge on how every part of our tasty snack is or can be grown right here in the wheat state!
One of our participants said: “My favorite new agriculture fact is that it takes twenty-one days for baby chicks to hatch.”
Another said: “I just learned today that mustard was made from a plant!”
The Farm-2-Table Series has been a high priority of mine since starting my career in extension. Although it took some time to work out all of the fine details, I couldn’t be more excited about the result of the first two years of this series!
In fact, I look forward to hosting two “summer camp” versions of the Farm-2-Table Series shortly after school wraps up this year. The Hill City Farm-2-Table Summer Camp will be available from May 22nd-May 24th from 9 AM-Noon. In Oberlin, we will offer this opportunity from May 30th-June 1st from 9 AM-Noon each day. This will be available to youth who will be 4th, 5th or 6th graders for the 2023-2024 school year. Please contact the Graham County Twin Creeks District Office for more information.
Jenilee Godsey is a Youth Agriculture Agent for the Twin Creeks Extension District which covers Decatur, Graham, Norton and Sheridan counties. Email her at jenileem@ksu.edu or reach her by telephone at the Graham County Office, (785) 421-3411.