Third graders across Dickinson County gathered earlier this fall in Abilene for “Ag Day” sponsored by the Dickinson County Farm Bureau, a day of farm education, safety, and fun. Matt McCune, Talmage Location Manager, was on hand to assist Jeff Bathurst, an area producer, with a station on crop nutrient and crop protection safety.
Bathurst,
who farms in the Abilene and Talmage area, has participated in the Farm Safety
Day for the past eight years and places an emphasis in his farming practice on
educating kids. McCune saw where Bathurst had been recognized in the community
for his involvement in Ag Day in previous years and approached him about MKC
getting involved in the education effort. This is now the second year the two
have partnered to present for Farm Bureau.
“It is important to educate the public about
chemicals and what we use them for,” said Bathurst. “Part of MKC’s strength is
they understand the farmer and we appreciate the help in educating the public.”
Students
were shown the size of an acre of land, discussed safety practices when dealing
with crop protection/nutrition products, and had a chance to view one of the
Case Patriot sprayers, with 120 foot booms, MKC utilizes in agronomy services.
The
students were amazed to learn from McCune that the spray rig could “drive
itself” through the use of GPS technology and auto steer.
“I feel that we need to educate kids in our
cities and towns about farm safety, because there is a high likelihood that
these kids will encounter farm equipment at some point in their life,” said
McCune. 
Shane
Eck, Lindsborg Location Manager, recently got involved in the effort to help
educate area youth on agriculture by presenting a program on the process of how
food and everyday products travel from the farm to their hands.
“I
wanted to get involved in classroom education because I feel it is important to
teach the next generation about the importance of agriculture. There are
a lot of individuals that do not truly realize the impact agriculture has on
society and how much we rely on it,” said Eck.
Eck
presented to the fourth grade class at Eisenhower Elementary School in
McPherson, beginning his presentation by asking the students what kind of things
they used every day. Responses ranged from vehicles to breakfast cereals.
Through
an image based web map, students were shown how vehicles could be traced back
to the farm by the use of ethanol fuels, a product of corn and milo, which are
made locally in Kansas. Or how the cereal they had for breakfast was made from
a wheat product.
“The
class was very involved and receptive which helped the lesson progress as we
hoped,” Eck commented.
Students
then moved onto building a model pizza discussing how each ingredient in the
pizza from the dough to the toppings came from agriculture. And as a treat for
lunch, pizza was provided to solidify the idea that agriculture is truly what
feeds them.
“The
agriculture presentation by Mid Kansas Coop was a very engaging hands-on
experience for my class,” said Tiffany Pacey, fourth grade teacher at
Eisenhower Elementary.
“I
felt the program went very well,” said Eck. “Since it was our first time
presenting it I was unsure of how well it would be received.”
Eck
commented that he would like to further develop the program for middle and high
school aged kids with a more advanced program that focuses on career
opportunities in agriculture.
MKC
places an emphasis on environmental and community stewardships as written in
its Core Values. Involvement in safety and education programs is just one way
this is demonstrated.
“They
learned about where their food comes from through a wonderful visual display,
and learned about the various crops grown in Kansas and their uses,” said
Pacey. “My students loved looking at and touching all the grains that are grown
in Kansas.”
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