| Students
get hands-on ag demonstration
The Second and Third Grade students of Prairie Elementary School were cordially invited by Summit Academy to attend a presentation sponsored by the Idaho Farm Bureau on Wednesday, March 7. Idaho Farm Bureau makes available a regular size plastic Holstein cow and a wheat program to visit the schools in Idaho to help show the students where the dairy products and flour come from. The cow "Maggie" is equipped so she can be milked. Most of the students have not had this experience, nor any idea of what ice cream or milkshakes are made of. The students got to take their turn at milking and then each child was given a small container to shake to turn the cream into butter. Kevin Rehder explained the dairy business to the second and third grade students from Prairie Elementary and K through sixth students from Summit Academy in the Summit Academy gym. The gymnasium was temporarily turned into a dairy barn and a flour mill as the students milked the cow and ground wheat into flour, while they shook their container of farm fresh cream until it turned into butter. Donna Wassmuth used a large book to show and explain the planting and harvesting of wheat. All the students ground up some wheat, then some was taken to the cooks who turned the flour into pancakes and everyone ate pancakes. Most were successful in having butter on their pancakes. Nancy Lustig, Alea Wassmuth and Bonnie Gehring came to help with the cooking. Felix Nuxoll brought Maggie in her very own trailer to the school. Thanks to Summit Academy staff for hosting and helping and Prairie Elementary teachers for their assistance. It was a fun learning experience for the students. The event was sponsored by Idaho County Farm Bureau. 
“Miss Maggie” the plastic cow is used to demonstrate how to milk a cow to school students. She has a pumping system that circulates the milk back into the cow. 
One of the students tries her hand and milking Miss Maggie. 
Another student gives it a go. 
Students attempt to turn cream into butter that they can use on the pancakes baked from the flour they ground from wheat (girl in green jacket is grinding wheat). All Photos by Urban Wassmuth. |
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