Recently the Lutcher High School FFA hosted a Farm Day exhibition for local school children.  Farm Day is an event that is an adaptation of the National FFA Organization's "Food For America" program.  Americans know very little about food and nutrition and we have a history of not eating the right food or getting enough exercise.  The Food For America program is all about high school students educating younger children about the roll that farming plays in providing us with food and protecting our environment.  The program also helps make aware those students who live in cities and suburbs who hardly ever think about how our groceries get to the market shelves.  There’re tremendous things that goes into growing, harvesting, packaging and distribution of our food supply. 

The high school students’ hope to impact the youngsters’ lives by helping them learn more about what they eat and where that food comes from.  They had various educational demonstrations including a well-done run-off presentation by Mr. Ken Guidry and Mrs. Colleen Laiche of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.  Students were educated about waste and waterway contamination.  American farmers are the largest producers of food on Earth and their efforts help feed the always-growing global population.  They produce food for you and me while being environmentally responsible by the wise use of crop protection chemicals and finding new ways to nourish their crops and protect our soils. 

The Lutcher High School students who organized and produced this program should be proud of their impressive accomplishment.  Lutcher’s FFA sponsor, Mrs. Michelle Lemoine, said that the club’s president, Adam Rouillier, should be commended for his efforts.  While Adam was the driving force behind their program this year, the club as a whole was very helpful with many students stepping forward to take on leadership responsibilities. 

Although Farm Day was open to the public, it was the St. James Parish primary schools that received invitations for students from preschool through third grade.  Mrs. Lemoine’s daughter’s class from St. Joan of Arc School also attended.  Teachers from throughout the area scheduled field trips to the event and had rave reviews at the end of their tour.  A total of nearly six hundred children made their way through the displays and presentations. 

The visiting children started their Farm Day education with a grade appropriate video, staring a muppet, of course, explaining what Farm Day is all about.  They went on to the display of tractors provided by Ascension Equipment of Gonzales and Sunshine Equipment of Donaldsonville.  Mr. Art Dardeau from Ascension Equipment showed the children some of the various sized tractors that are used on farms and taught them some fundamentals of tractor safety.  There was also a separate exhibit of all-terrain vehicles, which are commonly found on today’s farms.  

A typical stop during their Farm Day experience allowed the children to come in contact with the subject of the station and view a presentation on various aspects that pertain to that specific crop.  One station, for instance, was about horses.  These animals are raised commercially and are a valuable agricultural industry to Louisiana.  The children were able to pet a Miniature Horse yearling filly and a full-sized Paint Horse mare.  The high school students had a display and presentation about the different items horses eat and tools that are used in grooming them.  They also were amazed to see a photo display of one horse from the day she was born to being a full sized adult at just three years old.  That illustrated the amazingly quick growth of a horse.  Most all of the children admitted to liking oatmeal cookies and learned that both horses and humans have oats in their diets.  A question and answer session followed the presentation and was educational for the young children and often entertaining to the high school students. 

There were many exhibits on farm animals that supply humans with food.  Not only were the students able to see a young calf, they learned about showing cattle and exactly where steaks come from.  The children also saw pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, and chickens.  The chicken even surprised one lucky class with an egg. 

Some of the high school students brought their pets to make the day even more enjoyable to the youngsters, but most of the nineteen exhibits were directly pertaining to Food For America.  Some of the other interesting exhibits were of vegetables and fast foods.  The FFA members explained to the children where prepared foods such as hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream come from.  The ice cream exhibit was quite alluring to the students because they watched as it was made and they all walked away with a sample of the tasty delight.  The FFA members also put together certificate of attendance and an outstanding Food For America coloring book and gave them to each visitor. 

All the attending students left with smiles on their faces and their coloring books in hand.  Many of their teachers gave Lutcher High’s FFA high marks and made positive comments about this being a very enjoyable field trip.  The younger students left Farm Day more aware of how America eats and the high school students tired but fulfilled.   Fun and education is a wonderful combination for all!

 

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