More than 30 young Chaparrals turned out Monday and Tuesday to the Aubrey ISD Agricultural Center for a peek into what ag can be like.
The FFA advisers, along with experienced FFA students, led the kids who ranged in age from incoming kindergarteners to incoming fifth graders in activities that mimicked the skills and responsibilities the ag students learn regularly through the program.
“We came up with this to expand, to grow the Junior FFA,” FFA sponsor Steve Seale said.
He and his colleague Chelsea Fewell have worked on developing their plan for such a camp for years.
“It’s not a new idea,” she said. “It just takes a lot of legwork, so you have to get a lot of people on board to pull something this size off.”
That help also came in the form
Abigail Allen/The Post-Signal of ag parents as well as guest speakers.
Monday featured Texas Game Warden Matthew Zitterich, who brought his K9 to give a demonstration of how he works with his furry law enforcement partner.
Tuesday’s treat came in the form of the Mobile Learning Barn, presented by Texas Farm Bureau, Denton County Farm Bureau and Texas A&M AgriLife.
“It gives us the opportunity to share with these children about their food and where it comes from, and how farmers and ranchers grow all the food that they have to eat every day, no matter what kind of food it is,” said Tommy Calvert, the Denton County Farm Bureau board president. “… Today, so many of these young kids don’t have the opportunity to live or grow up on a farm.”
The Denton County Farm Bureau offers scholarships for 4-H and FFA students “to promote agriculture and help educate the younger children,” Calvert said.
He was accompanied by Zach Davis of Texas A&M AgriLife and Veronica Osterman with Texas Farm Bureau.
Making connections with groups of that nature is also important for the future health of the Aubrey FFA, Fewell said.
The FFA advisers set up different activities that captured multiple facets of ag, including “milk the cow, show the pig and ride the horse” as well as a “needle in a haystack” search for toy farm animals in the new show barn, a faux welding project using icing and graham crackers, a seed-planting exercise and a butter-making opportunity.
“They’re going to get a little graduation certificate at the end,” Fewell said.
In another effort to grow the Junior FFA program, the advisers will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the show barn to inform families about the opportunities available to them for showing livestock, starting in third grade.
