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Ogle County Ag Awareness Day went virtual
SUBMITTED PHOTO Tempo
Dr. Bob Ebbesmeyer from New Hope Vet Clinic in German Valley explains to students what it takes to be a vet at our virtual Ag Awareness Day. He is showing off the size of a pill that he can give and showed the students how to give the pill!
For 17 years Ag Awareness Day has been held at the Ogle County Fairgrounds for 4th and 5th graders from Ogle and Carroll counties. The goal of Ag Awareness Day is to increase students’ awareness of the daily impact that agriculture has on them, regardless of where they live.
Like everything else in 2020, Ag Awareness Day looked different. It was a virtual field trip with stops at four different locations. The day began at Robin and Annette Williams farm with their cow Mae. Dr. Bob Ebbesmeyer from New Hope Vet Clinic demonstrated how a vet surveys and treats a sick animal when they are called out to the farm.
Our second stop was led by Annette Martin at Nordman Feedlots. She gave participants an up close look at life on a beef farm. Students saw the chute used to give medicine and how it keeps the animal and farmer safe, as well as the different feed fed at the farm.
After seeing where their beef came from, students then “traveled” to Hunter Haven Farms to learn more about the origins of their dairy products. Doug Block gave students a tour of their 900 cow milking operation. It included seeing calves, what the cows eat, and even what they sleep on. Cows at Hunter Haven sleep on their own manure once it goes through a methane digester!
The last stop of the day was led by Roger Tourdot at Holland and Sons in Dixon. Students saw up close the variety of machines that farmers use to farm, such as a combine, planter, sprayer, and tractor. Students found out how much it cost to purchase this equipment, and how hard it is to start farming without having a farm background.
Ag Awareness Day is offered by the 4-H and Ag in the Classroom programs through the University of Illinois Extension. We would like to thank all of our tour hosts for a wonderful day.
