For the 29th year Barton County schools attended Kids Ag Day. In all, 360 fourth grade students from around the county gathered at Diamond K Farms west of Great Bend. All of the Barton County schools were represented.
“I’m just happy to be able to host,” said Josh Koelsch, owner of Diamond K Farms. Josh was in the original class of fourth graders when Kids Ag Day began and his father, Ron, helped establish the event 30 years ago. Josh drove one of the tractors on the tour portion of the day. Each hay rack tour stopped at five stations.
The first stop showed students about the crops and sample products made from them. The second, about spraying and chemical safety. Third, the evolution of agriculture from horse-pulled machinery to the high-powered and high-tech machinery of today. Fourth was precision agriculture and the use of drones, lots of questions followed this station. The fifth station of the tour discussed nutrition and the dangers of vaping and tobacco use.
After the tour were the demonstrations and a petting zoo. The cowboy, the bee keeper, the veterinarian and the cattleman, gave students the hands-on experiences and the sounds and smells of the farm, some sweet and some sour. They also learned about soil conservation and alpacas and organic farming methods.
Some of the students were more active and attentive than others. Some you could tell were just happy to be out of the classroom for a day and be on a field trip, plus pizza and cookies never disappoint.
Some have farm experience but many don’t, and that’s the point of this event; to inspire and show the young students the heritage of our community and the possibilities of what lies ahead of them in their futures, Ron said. Let’s be honest, keeping the attention of fourth graders with all the modern distractions isn’t easy and kids seem to grow up faster while missing the parts parents and grandparents find important.
Some parents, admittedly, forget what it is like to be that age though, he said.
Farming, in this day and age, is a modern and high-tech enterprise and encompasses more areas of business than meets the eye, as seen in the event’s displays. From GPS-guided tractors and harvesting machines, to drones and modern veterinary medicine, agriculture is at the forefront of technology and not an antiquated profession as many children would seem to think. Organizers said most kids were familiar with drones, know that chemicals should be handled with caution, and what vaping is.
They’re smarter than many adults will give them credit for but they’re paying attention even when people don’t think that they are. The spark and wonder is alive and well in the youth though. Everyone had something they will take away from their experience.
“We have a great group of volunteers that make this all work,” said Dennis Neeland, member of the Ag-Business Commitee. “We started setting up last night and a lot of these guys have been helping out for over 25 years,” he added.
It’s a tight-knit group, even volunteers that no longer give presentations showed up to hang out with old friends and create an atmosphere of sharing to continue to strengthen our community. Lots of volunteers have had their children participate and now their grandchildren have followed through. Even without the connection of a young family member participating volunteers still show up.
The Ag-Business Committee of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce directs the event. This event isn’t possible without the volunteers and business support from our community.
It’s hard to tell who had more fun, the kids or the volunteers. Using it as an excuse to get their tractors out, meet with old friends, and help share the love of farming and agriculture of our community’s heritage, there were lots of smiles from kids and volunteers alike.
