Students in Green Mountain High School's animal sciences class recently took their learning from the classroom to real life. And that meant getting their hands sticky, their shoes muddy and their noses used to the pungent odors of farm life.
Instructor Courtney Mayo and 30 of her students recently toured the Quail Ridge Dairy Farm in Fort Morgan and Flatland Showpigs in Merino.
"It's important for these students to come out here and learn about this culture and make the connection," Mayo said. "I can stand there and lecture all day, but out here they can actually put their hands on the topics they're learning about."
The animal sciences students are part of Green Mountain's first agricultural studies program, which launched in August and provides students with an in-depth study of the ways agriculture impacts daily life. They learn about agricultural careers, Future Farmers of America and get hands on learning opportunities.
The two farms allowed students to compare large-scale, business-oriented farming with smaller family approaches.
Quail Ridge Dairy is owned by Kraft Family Dairies, and the tour was arranged by the Western Dairy Association. Students got a run of the place with explanations from Mary Kraft and her husband, Chris, and learned about the day-to-day details of keeping a dairy farm working.
"This facility here was built in 2007," Mary Kraft said. "Between this location and our other farm, Badger Creek, we milk about 4,500 cows a day."
The Krafts explained that each cow gets milked for 10 minutes, three times day. They also highlighted the use of technology in providing the best care for the cows and the best product for customers.
The cows have Bluetooth technology on their collars that keeps data on each individual animal, including their temperature and how much they've given during previous milkings.
"The beautiful thing about this facility is being milked shouldn't be much of an inconvenience for them," Mary Kraft said. "We do a lot of preventive things here to keep all the animals in good health."
Students visited the area where pregnant cows stay, witnessed the birth of twins and saw calves taking some of their first steps. Usually, about 20 calves are born a day, but Chris Kraft said sometimes there are "calving storms" where some 50 calves are born in a single day.
"If we do everything right during and immediately after the birth, the animal will be a success everywhere else," he said. "We work hard to make a difference in every animal's life."
The milk from Quail Ridge is shipped to Denver's Leprino Foods and is used to make mozzarella cheese. Each cow makes about 10 gallons a day, which is needed by Leprino --; it's the world's largest mozzarella producer.
"I'm so impressed with this new FFA (national Future Farmers of America) group," said Scot Dutcher, manager, farmer and industry relations officer with the Western Dairy Association. "It's so important for people to learn about agriculture and where food comes from."
Flatland Showpigs is also a family affair, but on a much smaller scale. Bryan Funk founded it after he started raising swine for his children. Since its creation in 2005, it's grown to include about 30 sows, cows, horses, goats and sheep.
Bryan's son, Bryce, showed students around the farm and gave them an opportunity to get up close with many of the animals they've been learning about in class.
For students, that was the best part.
"I liked seeing how the farmers take care of calves, especially the live birth," said senior Breydon Coday. "I think this kind of thing is a lot better for students. It allows students who are caught behind a desk to get some hands on learning in life."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Lakewoods-Green-Mountain-ag-students-visit-east-Colorado-farms-for-hands-on-experience,213004
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