Chelsea, Dexter third-graders experience Michigan agriculture's bounty through Project Rural Education Day
Ethan Cameron, 9, of Dexter, learns about swine from Chad Fusilier of Manchester during Project Rural Education Days on Wednesday at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
About 550 third-graders, teachers and parents from Wylie Elementary School in Dexter and South Meadows School in Chelsea got a taste of Michigan agriculture during Project Rural Education Days on Wednesday morning.
Students from the two schools were among 2,500 students, teachers and chaperones from about 24 schools across the county that take part in the annual event at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds.
In addition to getting a close-up look at farm animals and sampling Michigan-made products, the third-graders learned that Michigan is second only to California in the variety of its agricultural products.
“Agriculture is the second most important industry in the state,” said Jackie Martin, Michigan State University 4-H extension coordinator.
For many of the students, it was their first time taking an agricultural tour of Michigan where among other facts, they learned that the state grows more than half of the tart cherries produced in the country and is the No. 2 producer of dry beans, as well.
Mitchell Reynolds, 9, of Chelsea, holds a chick.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
“I didn’t know that a cow produces 10 gallons of milk a day,” said Brady Fleszar, 10, of Chelsea.
The many uses of corn also surprised more than one student. Sarah Gilbreath, 9, of Chelsea, said she learned that the peanuts used for packing material were made from corn.
Most popular of the six venues was the farm animal stop, where students were allowed to hold a chick, and pet ponies, pigs, sheep and steer.
For Ross Stofflet, 9, of Chelsea, said it was the first time he’d held a chick, while for Hannah Hicks, 10, also of Chelsea, the experience wasn’t anything new. She raises chickens as a 4-H project and wanted her classmates to know that there are “many different kinds of chickens,” including silky ones that “have feathers on their toes.”
Another 4-H member, Madison Welshans, 9, of Chelsea, gravitated to the rabbit area where she said that show rabbits have tattoos in their ears so the judges can tell them apart. She raises mini rex, havana and Californian rabbits.
Landon Rauch, 9, and Michael Mason, 9, said they liked the pigs the best, while Matt Gaechter, 9, of Dexter, liked petting the Haflinger pony.
Madison Welshans, 9, of Chelsea, and a satin rabbit.
Lisa Allmendinger | AnnArbor.com
“I didn’t know that a female cow wasn’t called a cow until it had given birth,” Gaechter said.
Ethan Cameron, 9, a student at Wylie Elementary, said, “I knew a lot of this stuff, but I did learn about a llama and I didn’t know its wool could come off.”
Keaton Aldrich of Chelsea, who brought her llama to the event, said she got a lot of questions from the third-graders about whether Sweet Annie would spit or bite.
Chad Fusilier of Manchester, who was manning a stall with four piglets, said the school children asked if these were the Three Little Pigs or if any of the pigs' names were Bacon.
In its 21st year, Project RED takes place for three days each April as a way to introduce youth to Michigan agriculture and the state's natural resources, said Nancy Thelen, Washtenaw County MSU extension coordinator. She said teachers take back information and activity packets to their classrooms, as well as a tree seedling for each student.
This year, the teachers were also given books from the Molina Foundation as part of a nationwide reading campaign.
Lisa Allmendinger is a regional reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.