Students enjoy hands-on learning at Ag Day

April 26, 2023

Local 4th and 5th-grade students visited the Chouteau County Fairgrounds on Thursday, April 20 for the 10th annual Chouteau County Ag Day. Students from Fort Benton, Highwood, Geraldine, and Big Sandy schools (and some homeschoolers) learned about the importance of agriculture – Montana’s number one industry – through hands-on activities and demonstrations. The Chouteau County MSU Extension Office put on the event with lunch sponsored by Farmers Union. Students rotated through six stations, presented by the Chouteau County and Big Sandy Conservation Districts, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farmers Union, MSU Extension, Chouteau County 4-H, and the Big Sandy, Fort Benton and Geraldine FFA chapters. Chouteau County Extension Agent Tyler Lane and Stir Stitch ‘N Stirrup 4-H Club members Brentlee and Jacynta Bomgardner taught “Sheep to Sweater”, sharing about wool, the benefits to shearing, and wool properties in clothing and other uses. Students also dyed a small piece of wool with Kool-Aid to take home. Chouteau County Extension Agent Janell Barber taught “Farm to Table,” instructing students on the anatomy of wheat and how to bake homemade bread in a bag. The importance of soil health was taught by Jackson Bramlette of Chouteau County Conservation District, Barbie Martin of Big Sandy Conservation District, and Susan Massar and Jenna Brown from the Chouteau County NRCS office. They used compacted chocolate cake mix and Cocoa Puffs cereal to represent soil and milk to represent water, demonstrating the differences of how bad soil and healthy soil retain moisture.

“My day went excellent and my favorite part was the soil station. It was very fun,” said a Fort Benton fourth grader. “And then we got to eat it after!” A Fort Benton fifth grader was also fond of the soil lesson, noting, “It feels like I’m eating dirt, but it tastes like chocolate! Yum!” Matthew Hauk and Dartanion Kaftan from Farmers Union in Great Falls shared about bees and pollination. Students learned about bee anatomy, nature’s different pollinators, and the internal hierarchy of a beehive. At the end of the lecture, students rolled beeswax candles and received honey sticks to snack on. The local FFA chapters led a station focused on farm safety and the potential dangers of working in grain bins and operating heavy farming machinery. FFA advisors and members from Big Sandy, Geraldine, and Fort Benton buried students’ legs with wheat, showing what would happen if a cavity forms within a grain bin. They also demonstrated how highly flammable grain dust can be. The last station focused on horses and was taught by the Hartley sisters with their horse, Tivian.

Students learned about horse attitudes, moods, and body language as well as care and grooming. At the end, the kids got to lasso a barrel and give Tivian some treats and pets. “We learned when horses are irritated they put their ears back on their heads, which was fascinating,” A student said.