Peetz students take hands-on approach at Ag Day

PEETZ, Colo. – Peetz Elementary School students got a close-up view of the agricultural world on Wednesday courtesy of the high school's Future Farmers of America program.

After a week of preparations – and a few last-minute finishing touches – FFA members spent the day leading equipment demonstrations, hosting a petting zoo and teaching the younger students about the importance of agriculture.

Ag teacher Mike Forster said Ag Day is an opportunity for high school students to become educators for the elementary school students – and advocates for agriculture in general.

"There aren't enough advocates for agriculture," he said. "The only way you're going to do that is through education. We don't have the fancy bells and whistles like so many other industries, we just have the tried and true traditions that work."

Forty-two of Peetz's 60 high school students are enrolled in the ag program. By teaching others, they're able to more thoroughly understand the concepts they've been taught, Forster said.

"They make the learning fun not only for the elementary kids, but they create the learning fun for themselves," he added. "And if you enjoy it, you learn it, you remember it."

Junior Adam Davis spent the day explaining the differences between a combine built in 1955 and one manufactured last year. Both tractors were parked in the school's parking lot. He said he remembered attending Ag Day when he was in elementary school.

"It's awesome to be able to do the same thing for kids now," he said. "I think it really just exposes them to a lot of the world that's going on around them that they may not know about. It shows them where their food comes from – the hard work that goes into making their food."

Mallori Bjerke, a senior, said this is her fourth year in FFA.

"It's taught me a lot," she said. "I've gotten a lot of good friendships from it, and I'm an officer so it's taught me about leadership. I've learned about agriculture, and it's definitely taught me to appreciate it more."

On Wednesday, Bjerke stood in front of boards displaying past and present machinery and agriculture facts.

"This Ag Day is definitely the best we've had," she said. "We haven't had a petting zoo in a really long time, and I think it's good because all of it is hands on, it's fun and I'm learning along with them."

Standing next to welders, cutters and band saws, senior Brian Roelle explained the use of each machine to the elementary school students.

"I'm helping these kids learn that agriculture isn't just about farms and animals," he said. "You can be a scientist and deal with ag related stuff, you can do ag fabrication, work in shops, you can learn about animals and all the science that goes with animals."

As a second-grade class cleared out of the ag shop to make room for a sixth-grade class, Forster said the event helps raise awareness among the younger students while offering an opportunity for older students.

"The learning even for the high school students is great because they're produced it," Forster said. "It's definitely hands on, and that's what agricultural education is: it's hands on, real life, experiential."