CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Fourth graders across the Coastal Bend got some hands-on learning when it comes to agriculture.
Jason Nedbalek is the chair of the Ag in the Classroom committee. He said that the purpose of the program is to allow students to see new things in life.
“Agriculture touches their lives every day,” Nedbalek said.
The program teaches students about how connected they are to the world around them by teaching them how things are produced.
Steven Branecky works with the Southwest Dairy Farmers Education program. He said that students sometimes overlook the simple things.
I found out that a lot of those kids had no concept of where their food came from, and they took our course just because they wanted to learn about animals,” Brankey said. “So, once they get into it, they find out that only 2% of all the people in the United States are farmers and ranchers, so we lose that connection of where our food comes from.”
Jason said that he hopes to be able to provide students with an experience that they will never forget.
“The main reason for us is just to expose them to the agriculture industry and to teach them the real story about agriculture and how it does touch their life every day,” Nedbalek said. “They may drive down the highway and see a tractor out in the field and never, ever get a chance to get that close to it, but here they can crawl up on one.”
Aubrey Salinas is one of many fourth graders who attended the Ag in the Classroom. She said that she feels like she learned a lot.
“They showed us about cows, and how to feed cows, and how the machine goes so they can get milk out of the cows.
Steven said hands-on learning for these students can open a door of possibilities.
“When I can have a part in having them connected to agriculture, that’s very, very satisfying,” he said.
The San Patricio Farm Bureau has hosted this program for more than 30 years and they don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
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