Field Day gives students a real-world look into ag industry

Area FFA students were given the opportunity to get out of the classroom and make real-world connections to the agriculture industry while attending Ag Field Day at the Southwest Research Center on Thursday, Sept. 12 in Mt. Vernon.
Almost 70 speakers, representing about 40 different agriculture businesses and organizations had booths set up at Southwest Research Center; 1800 FFA students from 50 school districts had the chance to visit with each to learn about a variety of topics, including soil health, beef cattle reproduction, construction, veterinary medicine and the use of social media to advocate for agriculture.
Nathan Isakson, ag instructor for the Ash Grove School District, brought 42 students to Ag Field Day. He said the event gave his students an educational opportunity which just can’t be found in the classroom.
“Ag Field Day is the way for the University of Missouri to showcase the research and the practices that they use here on the Southwest Center farm and also in other places throughout the state,” he said. “It’s a good way for my students to get education from someone besides myself; people that have expertise in different fields that they don’t get to see on a daily basis, and potentially, it exposes them to all the different career fields that are available to a student if they choose to study agriculture after the secondary level.”
Cannulated steers, which are steers with holes surgically cut in their sides that allow people to stick gloved hands into their stomachs and study their digestive systems, were a favorite with many students. Ash Grove student Makenna Johnson, 17, who was attending her fourth Ag Field Day, said she enjoyed seeing the cannulated steers, and especially watching new students put their hands inside them.
“One of my all-time favorites is the cannulated cow,” she said. “We always go there first, and we get to learn about ruminant nutrition and get to stick our hands inside the side of a steer. That’s just always my favorite thing, and it’s fun to see the Ag Science 1 kids get to interact with that as well.”
Another Ash Grove student, Hunter Wheeler, 17, said he enjoyed seeing the quarter-scale tractors presented by Torq’N Tigers.
“They weigh up to 900 pounds or less, and they can pull up to six tons,” he said, “so I just find that really interesting; something that small being able to pull something that big.”
Jessika Wyatt, 14, from Walnut Grove High School, got the chance to stick her arm into a cannulated steer for the first time.
“It was actually kind of fun,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect.” Field Day gives students a real-world look into ag industry
Willard FFA President Jessica Jones, 15, also enjoyed experiencing the cannulated steers, but said she also had a better understanding of the career fields available in the ag industry.
“This is absolutely for me to get a career in the agriculture industry,” she said. “It’s so broad, and I know I want to get a career in that industry. It also helps me to understand the diversity of it and the many options that there are.”
Sidney Wilson, vice-president of the Willard FFA Chapter, said she also got a better understanding of the agriculture industry after attending Ag Field Day.
“Today, I got to learn about the many different career options and college options in the agriculture field,” she said. “Even if I don’t go into agriculture, there are multiple colleges here that I’ve learned about, and I’ve learned about the different aspects of agriculture, not just producing the food, but what we do with the food after the farmers produce it.”