2017 Tom Graham 5th-Grade Farm Tour is udderly fabulous

While today’s youth from Holmes County live in the midst of one of America’s most agricultural-based areas, many of them are totally unaware of the important role agriculture plays in society.

As farming and conservation become more and more foreign to the youth of today, the Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District continues to make sure the county’s youth gain some understanding of the important role agriculture plays in Holmes County.

The tool they use to promote agricultural learning is the Tom Graham 5th-Grade Farm Tour, and this year’s event, held Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the Wachtel family’s Spring Walk Farm, saw a whole new crop of fifth-grade students from every elementary school in Holmes County parade through the farm, where they visited various stops promoting conservation and agricultural practices.

“It’s important to continue to provide an avenue for Holmes County youth to experience a working farm and gain some insight as to the important role agriculture plays in our community,” said Michelle Wood, SWCD program administrator.

Each of the buses from all of the schools from West Holmes, East Holmes and Holmesville Elementary arrived one by one to the Wachtel Farm, where they unloaded, lined up and waited to be sent on their way to a number of educational stops along the tour.

Included on those stops were Dave Woodring and Randy Starner focusing on forestry; farm safety demonstrations presented by the members of Hiland and West Holmes FFA; Gina Schworm, Joe Christner and Terry Scott talking about soil; wildlife topics by ODNR Division of Wildlife’s Jamey Emmert and Ken Fry; Jane Houin and Karen Gotter presenting wildlife and dairy farming conservation; and feeding processes presented by farm owners Bill and Bev Wachtel and their son and co-owner Kurt Wachtel.

At each 10-minute stop along the tour, students took notes to help them prepare essays that they will turn in to their teachers. Each fifth-grade teacher will then choose the two best essays to present to the SWCD committee, which will in turn pick the first-, second- and third-place winning essays, which will be presented later this year during the SWCD banquet.

Juanita Miller, West Holmes FFA Chapter president, was one of four West Holmes FFA members to give the opening presentation about farm safety around the PTO of a tractor. Their demonstration included a straw-filled dummy that was quickly whipped into pieces as it was dropped into the PTO mechanism. It provided a sensational and somewhat jaw-dropping moment to kick-start the tour.

“We enjoy this PTO presentation because they need to understand the danger of the machinery and the importance of being careful,” Miller said. “I think this demonstration is one that wakes their brains up before they get going.”

The FFA students from West Holmes and Hiland also presented some other farm safety activities as well as heading up the always-popular Soil Sam snack stop, where students used all kinds of sweet treats to create a tasty snack to represent the various layers of soil and the wildlife that helps cultivate the soil.

Each stop is beneficial for the fifth-graders, but also it helps provide some great leadership training for the high school FFA members.

“It’s fun to be in a leadership role that these kids look up to,” Miller said. “This is such an important day for these students because agriculture is kind of taking a back seat for many kids, and for them to come at this age and see how a farm operates is valuable.”

Kurt Wachtel was teaching the students how the various feeds their farm utilizes helps feed their dairy cows and keeps them healthy. He also talked about some conservation practices, helping the kids realize that the feed allows the cows to produce quality milk. The feed then returns to the fields as fertilizer in the form of manure.

“Part of it is about maximizing the farm’s profitability, but just as important, we want the students to understand that farming takes a great deal of hard work and dedication to have a dairy farm, raise your own crops, and plant and harvest everything from start to finish,” Kurt Wachtel said. “It’s not an easy job, but we feel it is important to share the value of farming with these kids.”

For the Wachtel family, the chance to provide insight into an industry that has been part of their family for decades was more than enough reason to open their farm up to the tour for the second year in a row.

“Jean Houin approached us about hosting, and we knew the tour hadn’t been on a dairy farm in quite some time, so we thought it would be beneficial for the kids to gain some understanding of how a dairy farm operates,” Bev Wachtel said.

Bill Wachtel said teaching today’s youth about the importance of farming and the need to continue quality dairy production was the other driving force behind their decision to host.

“The main thing we felt was that we need to teach kids about farming,” Bill Wachtel said. “Last year when we hosted, I talked to a lot of kids, and even though we live in an agricultural community, I don’t think that even 15 percent had ever been on a farm. We need to continue to educate and promote the farming industry because it is such a big part of our county.”

The original Wachtel farm is a 126-acre farm plus several other adjoining farms they utilize that totals about 350 acres. They raise hay and corn and some wheat and beans that supply feed for their 150-head herd of dairy cows.

The large spread allowed students to take a close look into the everyday operations of a farm, and it also was an adventure outside of the school walls, and those oftentimes sink in because they are unique and exciting.

In addition to the learning that went on, the students also shared a lunch. Members of Nashville Methodist Church, the Wachtel’s home congregation, volunteered to grill hot dogs for all of the students, and they also provided other side dishes for the day’s lunch. In addition the Dairy Farmers of America provided ice cream sandwiches, making this a truly collaborative effort.

From the field to the milking parlor, the 52nd Tom Graham 5th-Grade Farm Tour was another successful day of helping the county’s youth realize the value and importance of the farming industry.