Fifth Grade Farm Tour is a chance for local FFA leaders to shine

Fifth Grade Farm Tour is a chance for local FFA leaders to shine
Dave Mast

By teaching county fifth-graders about the importance of agriculture and conservation, whether it is dairy milking or farm safety, the farm tour has helped keep alive the knowledge of the important role agriculture plays in Holmes County.

                        

The Tom Graham Fifth Grade Farm Tour is designed to educate and inform Holmes County’s fifth-graders on the benefits of farming and agriculture. This year there were two tours, one for East Holmes students on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at Tom Miller’s One-O-One Ranch, and the other on Thursday, Sept. 27 at Spring Walk Farm, where West Holmes' fifth-graders convened.

While the day is meant to benefit the fifth-graders, it also serves as an opportunity for the high school members of the FFA groups on both sides of the county to step outside of their classrooms and gain some experience in the field.

“It’s a great opportunity for our kids to get out here and lead,” said Jaime Chenevey, West Holmes High School agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor. “This is a chance for them to get involved with something that is important to the community and to get involved with passing along what they have learned to the younger kids in the district, and that might help generate excitement about ag for some of those kids as they talk about some of the things they believe in.”

At the West Holmes tour, a trio of West Holmes ag students put their heads together to come up with a 20-minute program on farm safety.

The program included tips on general farm safety, ATV safety, and tractor and animal safety. The students — Jamie Pennell, Rebecca Sprang and Lexi Ogi — were given free reign as to how they wanted to shape the program.

Aside from that, a large contingent of West Holmes ag students were on hand at the tour to take an active role at each of the five stops, which included forestry, dairy farming, wildlife, water quality and soil.

“It’s a great way for us to promote agriculture and the things we do at school, but it is also a perfect chance for my students to take ownership in something that is important to promote, especially in our community,” Chenevey said.

Two days prior at the East Holmes Fifth Grade Farm Tour at One-O-One Ranch near Berlin, the students of East Holmes were provided with the same opportunity to gain some insight, and it was Hiland ag teacher and FFA advisor Jeff Blakley’s students who were playing a role in sharing their knowledge with the fifth-graders.

Joe Miller was the HHS student who took a key role in getting the day started with Hiland’s safety course.

Blakley said seeing his kids get a chance to showcase their knowledge and gain experience in public speaking was extremely valuable.

“It’s a great chance for some of the kids to step outside of their comfort zone in front of a large group of about 160 people and develop their speaking skills, which is a large part of what we hope to promote in our experience through FFA,” Blakley said.

Blakley said almost all of the high school students can hearken back to their trek to the farm tour and the experience they had and the things they found interesting and valuable during the tour. For them to get a chance to give back to the tour and district and be a part of a learning moment for the fifth-graders was something Blakley said they can’t take for granted.

“This is a big deal to a lot of these young kids to experience this day, and for our high school students to get a chance to share with them and to be a part of their experience during the tour is exciting because it helps the fifth-graders and it helps our FFA kids grow too,” Blakley said.

Blakley used Miller as a prime example. He said Miller has been involved with public speaking, and his leadership and outgoing personality helps some of the other high school FFA members realize they can do that kind of thing too.

“He’s a good one to put up there because he is one of those no-fear students who is willing to step up and do this kind of thing,” Blakley said. “This is actually probably the most people he has ever spoken in front of, and he did a terrific job.”

Blakley said seeing kids learn to come out of their shells and learn to speak and educate in front of people is an important opportunity for FFA students, and those are the types of skills students can carry on with them throughout life.

Blakley said this kind of experience helps the students to feel more comfortable when it comes to speaking at parliamentary procedure events in FFA, noting that is one of the few places in high school where kids can learn to speak in front of people with confidence.

“Being a part of this tour will only continue to grow my program at Hiland," said Blakley, now in his second year as FFA advisor. “The fifth-graders are learning a lot, and this day is designed for them, but there are a ton of wonderful benefits for my FFA kids too.”


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