Area fourth graders attended the 25th annual Friends at the Farm event Thursday at the Finney County Fairgrounds. Carol Deaver, Finney County Farm Bureau Board president, said about 775 fourth grade students attended the event this year from Finney, Gray, Haskell and Kearny Counties. At their first event 25 years ago, they only had 250 students attend, Deaver said. It’s grown considerably since then. Deaver said the goal of the event is to inform students about what happens on farms and ranches in Finney County and southwestern Kansas and how many of the things they use daily originate on a farm or ranch. “Whether a seed or livestock or that kind of thing, people don’t realize all the byproducts that come from out of commodities and livestock raised on farms in addition to food, fiber and energy that we’re all pretty familiar with,” she said. Jennifer Gerber, Finney County Farm Bureau member and County Coordinator, said the event is about helping students make connections between food and where it comes from, it’s what she likes most about the event. She’s gone into classrooms and helped with after school programs and when kids are asked where chocolate milk comes from, unfortunately a lot of times they say brown cows, so she feels events like Friends at the Farm are needed to help people understand where the food comes from.
Source: Garden City Telegram
