The chapter members organized a petting zoo in the back corner of the parking lot. There was no shortage of visitors! Several high school students wandered out throughout the day and about 800 students from Lee and Page elementary schools got a chance to see the animals and learn more about them.
There was a pony named “Bandit,” a rabbit named “Mooma,” and sheep named “Fred, Luanne and Gladys.” The Clydesdale horse was aptly named “Clyde” and his Belgian counterpart was named “Kody.” Three ducks - one white, one tan and one dark brown - were named “Marshmallow, Graham Cracker and Chocolate.”
But it was more than just getting to pet the animals and learn their names. Students asked the high school students about their animals - how they fed them, why they were so big, how old they were, and how did they get milk out of the cows?
High school FFA advisor Alyssa Hamlin said it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun for her students to share their love of animals with others. “The goal was to spread awareness of the ag industry and how many vast segways there are in agriculture. We wanted to expose students to animals in our community and learn more about them,” she said.
Student FFA leaders helped usher classrooms from one livestock display to another, giving students a chance to ask questions, pet the animals if they wanted to, and learn more about them.
Signs on the pens also offered some valuable information about the animals. One sign hanging on the Holstein calf pen read, “Brown cows do not make chocolate milk!!!” It added that a heifer is a girl cow before she’s had a calf and that cows can produce about 8 gallons of milk per day. Another let students know the duck’s favorite snack, although they were named for a tasty bonfire treat, was actually watermelon.
Lydia Slagel brought her yaks and students were amazed at their soft, flowing hair. Case Shellenbarger brought one of his pigs he hopes to show at the Barry County Fair later this summer and Erika and Allison Wolowicz brought baby calves, each only about a week old.
Elementary students were also given a copy of the Michigan Ag Mag provided by Michigan Farm Bureau that showed the various commodities in agriculture.