Out Around the Barn

Bright and early moms and dads, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters arrive on the fairgrounds with their little ones in tow.  It is Kid’s Day at the fair.  Children of all ages get to come to the fair for a fun and educational day.

When first arriving, the children register for information on the basics of 4-H.  They will receive material telling them all they need to know about the age requirements and rules.  This will provide them with the knowledge to decide if becoming a member is of interest to them.  

Then we are off to tour the livestock barns.  Our first stop is the Sheep barn.  So many to see, the children are so excited.  Some of the sheep stand right up next to their gates and let the children pet them and even feed them from their hands.  Others, not so much.

Next to the sheep are the goats. They are much like the sheep in letting you pet them.  There weren’t as many of them but the kids sure enjoyed seeing them.

Our next stop is a small group of cattle.  The girls got to pet a couple of steers and take pictures.  These were Herefords and Angus cattle.  We didn’t make it over to the other barns full of cattle.

We left the cattle and ended up at the Hog barn.  The barn was practically full of hogs. We were able to see the different ways to water the hogs by using what looked like PVC pipes with a spout on it for them to drink from.  The waterers were a good farm accessories to have.  It sure saved having to make several trips to supply drink for the hogs.  The girls thought that was funny.  They wanted to pet everything but, I was a little cautious here so we skipped the petting of the pigs.

After touring the barns, we went to the activity tent and let the girls pick apples from the tree display and place them in baskets.  Next was gathering of eggs and milking a cow and goat.  Now, I must explain that these are all made of wood and materials.  These are not the real thing, which is good, because as many children as there were, I do not think the animals would tolerate much.  I must say that whoever created the displays did a wonderful job.

The girls climbed aboard one of the John Deere tractors and we took pictures of the two of them and then they played in the straw pile.  They also enjoyed a straw maze that they could walk and climb through. 

Now it was time for a rest.  The girls wanted to ride the Merry-Go-Round and so they did with their friend, Rachel.  They giggled the whole time.  We decided it was time to cool down since the temperature was pretty warm by taking a tour through the Exhibit building to see all the quilts, antiques, school projects, canned food, homemade goods and etc. that was on display.

Lunch was served to all the families, provided by the Kiwani’s Club of Salem and free ice cream cones were given to all the children from the Bullard Family.

By this time my two were exhausted, not to mention myself and my mom.  We ventured out with fun in mind for my 3 yr. old niece, Kalissa and my 21 month old special little friend, Kennedy, she calls me grandma.  It was a girls day farm adventure.  The little ones had a blast, as well as the rest of the children that attended Kid’s Day.

It is so great to see the Marion County Fair dedicate one day just to the children of the community.  It gives our future generation of farmers a look ahead, although they may not understand it just yet, to get to see and touch the livestock and learn about the different breeds and responsibilities.  All the children took home goody bags full of infomation and surprises. 

Thank you to all those who participated in making this a wonderful day for our children.  I cannot even begin to name everyone involved but they know who they are.

It is that time of year again and the work has begun.  The fair grounds are being prepared for the eight days of events that is about to take place here in Marion County, Salem, Illinois.  There is so much work to be done that if you are not involved in the process, you would never know how much work really does go into the actual planning. 

These members of the fair board meet once a month, all year long, to plan and prepare for just this event.  It isn’t like a month before and all falls into place, it takes time and planning to organize and arrange for every detail to work.  From my understanding, members have specific and different areas in which they plan their events.  For example, each event has a supervisor in which to oversee the details.  At the meetings, everything is discussed from the price of the event to the price of the tickets to be sold, rules are gone over and updated, any changes, layout of the fields for the events or any kind of promotions that need to be done.  Then come the day of the event, the supervisors oversee the preparations and get everything ready to go.

At the fair you get to see all the old and new models of farm equipment that has had an impact in our county and across the nation.  Farmers from all over bring tractors, new and old, in for the week for folks to view and watch when they are in an event.  Other equipment is brought also but, the tractors are a big attraction.

Same goes for the 4-H livestock shows.  There are those that cover this area as well.  Today is the day that they are setting up barns for the 4-H kids to begin bringing in their livestock projects.  There will be cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, horses, maybe some chickens, dogs and even a kitten or two.  We usually always find a stray kitten left behind to bring home at the end of the week. 

Getting ready for these events takes a lot of hard work and organization.  Pens have to be set up, separate barns for the different breeds have to be readied, water supply must be working, areas for feed, hay and straw have to be made available, and of course, a place for all the owners to stay as well.  Then finding Judges to judge each event is a job within itself.  They must have knowledge and experience in the field that they are judging.

There is so much to get done, that it is hard to list every little thing, like making sure the vendors arrive on time, that plenty of food and beverage is available, that there is adequate facilities for the crowds and plenty of working restrooms. 

I am proud of our Fair here in Marion County.  Mr. Ron Wilkins, President, and all the members do an excellent job.  Come for a visit, you are sure to have a great time.

For more information on the fair and events go to www.marioncountyagfair.org.

Those little cute yellow chicks, oh how fast they grow.  Why do we want to raise them?  Do we do it just because they are cute or do we do it to put food on our tables in the future months?  Are they worth the time and money?

I think so.  Fresh meat that we raise is so much better than that processed meat in the grocery store.  We know exactly what we fed them and if they needed any medications and for what.  We watch them daily and feel good about having the ability to be able to provide the freshest meat for our family.  Not only do we provide meat for our loved ones we also provide fresh eggs.  Fresh eggs are just the best!

Yes, the chicks cost little if you purchase them but the feed bill can get expensive depending on what you are raising.  If you are raising broilers for meat, they will eat you out of house and home.  They are constantly hungry.  You would think they would eventually get full but they keep on eating.  These little guys soon become big in a matter of weeks.  Not months.  I raised 15 that I purchased in May and here 10 weeks later, we are dressing them at 8 lbs.  That is their dressed weight.  So live weight, they would have to have been approx. 10 lbs.  They were huge and will make a good meal. 

I enjoy my chickens and have fun just watching them especially the little ones.  The hardest part is the day the we have to butcher.  When they get so big that they are beginning to have trouble standing we know it is time to call it quits with them.  I am not the one that will do the worst and kill them but, I do the rest.  The plucking is a chore within itself.  It just drags on and the checking and double checking to make sure they are clean before we can cut them up seems to take forever.  Even though it is tedious, I much prefer to raise my own and feed my family with good fresh food.

One thing I did learn throughout this process is that the water needs to be HOT!  Not just hot to touch.  I mean scalding, otherwise the feathers will be a pain to pluck.  Also, it helps to have your knives sharpened before you start.  Sharp knives are a farm accessory that is needed on the farm, especially if you do your own butchering.  A dull knife just makes the job harder.  Have your sink or tubs ready to put the chicken in to cool while you continue working on the others.  I save plastic milk jugs and fill with water and freeze and keep them on hand for jobs like this.  You can just take them out of the freezer and place in the sink or tub.  They will cool down the bird to prevent ecoli from setting in.  Get them into the freezer as soon as you can.  If you have several, you may want to clean and freeze them whole, you can always cut them up when you get ready to cook them. 

It can become a disaster area around the house fast when butchering.  All the pans and bowls, knives and rags to clean up, not to mention the counters and sinks, tubs, barrels and etc,  Just make sure you clean and sanitze everything when you finish.  This helps prevent saminilla poisioning.

So if you want to raise chickens, whatever kind, go for it and have fun.

I truly love my horse, Blaze.  I have loved animals all my life and horses were always a big part of that love.  As a teenager, I had a gelding named Rourke.  At that time in my life, I had ‘no fear’ and broke him to ride myself.  I had so much fun with him and it really hurt me to have to give him up when I left home.  For twenty plus years I wasn’t around horses and I missed that.  I did not realize that you can become fearful of the one thing that you once loved so much but, I had become afraid.  Not as much as afraid of the animal as it was getting hurt by it.  I had to face my fears and start over. 

So, I started slowly and then bought me a Paint mare, Dallas.  She seemed to ride well and do okay when we watched her in the arena.  Once home and on the farm I realized that I had made a mistake.  Buying her was the worst thing I did.  She was not with the program and seemed to have a mind all her own.  She threw me every time I’d try to ride her and that even made my fears worse.  It didn’t matter how much I done ground work with her she would go right back to her old habits and she became dangerous for me.  My daughter didn’t think I needed to keep her and that she wasn’t safe, as well as my partner so, I traded her for an 8 yr.old gelding.  Blaze was gentle to handle and I could ride him with ease.  It felt good to get some self confidence back.

Well, now that I have a horse, I thought I needed to look into buying a saddle and bridle.  Allen has several already but, I wanted my own.  Boy, was I surprised at all the information you needed to know on how to fit a saddle.  I soon discovered that just because a saddle looks good, doesn’t mean it will fit your horse.  If a saddle doesn’t fit right it can cause serious problems for your horse such as saddle sores or pressure sores.  A saddle built for a quarter horse, with a round back, will not fit a horse with high withers.  If a saddle does not fit snug and it constantly slides back and forth it can cause blisters to flare up or if the horse is not used to having a saddle on for any length of time this can also cause a problem.  If this should occur and you have to ride your horse, ride him bareback until the sores heal.

These are all things to consider when owning a horse.  Even when you get the saddle you want and it fits right, you have to have a saddle rack to store it on.  The saddle always needs to be free of mud and hair or any other debris, especially the girth area.  Make sure you wipe it down after each use.  Always keep it in a dry area and stored off of the floor.  A good saddle blanket is also a good thing to own.

It doesn’t take a lot to keep a horse happy.  You can put him on pasture and he’ll do okay but, we like to feed ours a little grain in the morning before we turn them out to pasture and then in the evening we’ll give them about 2 lbs. of grain when we put them in their stalls for the night.  Along with their evening feed we add horse vitamins and supplements to help with their growth and joints.  In the winter they are supplied with hay to keep them satisfied and full.

One thing to remember is to never put a saddle on your horse without brushing him/her first.  This can help prevent sores and your horse will love you for it.

Someone said the other day that they really liked horses but that he can’t ride because he gets sores on his behind and that he could not ever be a farm person.  I told him that just because he got saddle sores once does not mean that he can’t ride, he would just have to do it again and not for a long period.  Just take short rides and get used to it.  He didn’t think so.  I hear people all the time talk of their love for horses and how they want to come ride.  They just don’t realize the care you need to take in preparing one to ride. 

Like I said, I love my horse and every thing that we need to do to before we ride is worth the effort.  Our horses are our friends, pals, pets and for some money makers.  So here’s to our horses!

If you’ve ever owned a horse or been involved in the world of horses, it’s very likely that you’re aware just how expensive and intricate much of the equestrian riding gear can be. As such, one of the most intense and costly pieces of equipment that every rider needs is the horse saddle. But it’s a frequent problem for people to try to find a place to safely store that saddle.

After all, you never want to simply store something like this on the ground where it can sustain any level of damage. You also want to make sure that it retains its shape as much as possible while you’re storing it. This is why so many people look into saddle racks. These offer a convenient and easy way to keep your saddle in top working order, even when it’s in-between uses.

This year I have somehow got myself and my partner into all kinds of new adventures on the farm.  I have expanded my love of animals to acquiring chickens, goats and now bottle calves.  Chickens we have now had for about three years but the goats came ten months ago and the first bottle calves three months ago. 

What is so funny about all of this is that I didn’t plan to feed bottle calves.  We have not ever had them before and had no plans for them now.  As fate would have it, we had a heifer give birth and lost her calf.  We went to a dairy farm and bought a 2 day old bull calf and put on her.  We assumed she would take to the calf and all would be well.  Not so.  She pretty much lost her mind and became dangerous.  We had to let her go.  So now then, we have a calf with no mama and need to feed him.  So now we have a bottle calf, Buster. 

For two weeks I fed him a bottle morning and night and if I was at home during the day I would give him one at noon.  I am very naive at this point and not sure if I am giving enough or too much.  He develops the scours and I think I am giving too much so I decrease his intake and add some Pepto Bismol in his bottle, just a cap full.  This seemed to help but I had the feeling that he was still hungry all the time.  My partner, Allen, brought me some calf starter home and we started putting that out for him.  He would eat a little but not much.  He couldn’t seem to find the water on his own so, I would fill a bottle and get him to drink it that way.  I know he was confused but, so was I.  We were quite the pair. 

Around that two week mark, we had incident with someone elses cattle that left a calf without a mama and they didn’t want the calf.  So we thought that maybe Buster would do better with a friend and now we have Barney.  Now Buster is a Holstein and Barney is Angus,  the odd couple.  So, now my new adventure begins and it grows from here. 

Buster and Barney have become pets.  They know when it is feeding time and I have handled them enough that it is nothing to walk up to them, slip on a halter and lead them wherever I need them to go and there are the moments when a halter is not even needed. 

Barney took a few days to discover he would only get his milk from a bottle.  He was fortunate enough to have a mama for a couple of days and that was just enough to confuse him.  Once we got that process going we introduced him to the sweet feed and hay.  He took right to it.  Needless to say that he has grown and filled out a lot better that Buster. 

Now just when I thought my bottle days we coming to a close, we have 4 more calves that need a home.  These came in at the local livestock barn where Allen works and there are not many folks around here that want to mess with calves, too time consuming.  So, I got the call and said bring’em home.  Now we have Sally, Brutus, Brewster and Callie, all Angus babies, ranging from 1 – 2 weeks old.  Now the fun begins!

Not knowing their exact ages and going by size, I tried to figure out how much they would need to be fed.  Sally was the biggest of the four and Brutus was next, Brewster and Callie were the smallest, so to begin I gave each 2 quarts to see how well they would take the bottle.  It took about 4 days to get them to where we didn’t have to fight them to get them to eat.  Sally only took more than 2 qts. a couple of times and the others were just pigs once they got the hang of it.  The two smallest ate just about 3 qts. every feeding and Brutus ate just as much if you let him.  Sally just didn’t take to the bottle well and she usually finished after one bottle.  She did do well at eating grain and hay, though, and we had it in front of them always.  This I found also helped to keep them from sucking on each others ears since they have the urge to want to continue to suck after they finish their bottles.  At times I have to separate them for a few minutes and they do fine. 

This is when I realized that a good livestock feeder is an essential for bottle calves  and has to be at a height where they can reach it easily.  It needs to be accessible to them at all times and feed kept in them.  If you have several, a self feeder might be more to your liking.

Now we are at the 90 day age and it is time to think about weaning.  We are weaning our other calves that are the same age today and so I have decided that Barney, Sally and Brutus needs to be weaned from their bottles also.  Well, Barney has been for a while and I have kept him with the rest so, once in a while, if there is milk left that the others didn’t finish, he gets.  Now it is time for him to be completely off the bottle too.  I started decreasing Sally and Brutus’ milk intake a week ago so that it wouldn’t be so hard on them.  Today they have done well so far.  We will put them in with the other calves this evening and we will see how they do.

 Buster, on the other hand, gets to stay on the bottle a while longer with the little ones.  I think I messed up and didn’t give him enough to begin with and then took it away too soon.   He started looking thin and didn’t seem to eat the feed well so I started supplementing him with a bottle again.  I am going to do this for the next four weeks and see how he does.  By then the other two should be ready to wean and him along with them.  I recently read that you should give a bottle calf at least one to one and a half gallons of milk a day.  I wasn’t feeding Buster enough. 

After going through all this, I finally find an answer to my question of how much to feed.  Oh, well, it is a work in progress.

Having bottle babies can be fun but, it is work.  There is more to it than I first thought.  You have to have the right kind of bottle and nipples for them and you want the milk to come out at a nice flow, not too fast or it could choke them.  A livestock feeder that is at the right height and a good starter feed and grain, 15 – 18% protein, as well as hay is a must.  First and foremost is a good milk re-placer. This is a necessity.  You want to feed them on a schedule just like you would a newborn baby.  They need consistency as well, we feed ours at the same time we do chores and feed the other livestock, that keeps everything on a routine.  This lowers the risk of upsetting their stomachs and the possible scour.

On our farm, the time for weaning the baby calves is just around the corner.  Actually, today to be exact.  It is not ever an easy job to separate the little ones from their mamas but, it has to be done.  This is my bull calf, Snowman, from last years herd. Here he is 4 weeks old.

Most of our calves are 90 days old now and are eating grain and grass well.  When they are able to do this and can fend for themselves it is the right time.  We do this by watching the signs and have found that the best time to accomplish this is when the sign is in the thighs or knees, it must be below the heart.  Not everyone watches the signs of the moon but we do and that is just our preference.  In our opinion there are fewer complications when it is done in the right sign.  If done too early, some of the problems you may encounter are:

• some calves do not adapt to the change from milk to grass and feed
• they do not eat well, therefore, they lose weight and do not develop and grow as well as they should
• they become stressed from the changes without mama and can become ill

A couple of reasons we like to wean early when the calves are around 90 days old is because it is the time of year when the weather is turning hot and the pastures begin to dry up.  It takes the stress off the cows if they don’t have to produce milk for their calves and their bodies can begin to prepare for the next calving season.  Also, we don’t have to feed as much grain and unless the pastures completely dry up, hay is not necessary until Fall.  It also helps, in the re-breeding of the two year old heifers and cows because the stress on their bodies is not there. 

 When done at the right time, there is less stress on the mamas and calves and also the time of mourning their loss only lasts about 3 days.  It can get quite noisy around here for a few days. 

 This time I am weaning three of my bottle calves with the others and am curious to see how they will all interact with each other.  Sally, Brutus and Barney were not happy with me this morning when they didn’t get their bottle.  I have been decreasing their intake for the past week and today is the day that they are on straight feed and grass.  They have been eating pretty well and I hope that continues.

When separating, it is always good to have your cattle sorting paddle or sorting stick handy.  The sorting paddle is a huge help when trying to block the calf from the cow.  The paddle draws the calves attention away so the cow can go where you need her to go and the calf stays behind.  It can keep the calves attention and you can guide them to their new destination.  The sorting paddle is also useful in that it can give you the distance you need between you and the cow and you are still able to guide her as well. 

The paddle is good to accomplish both jobs here, although some prefer the sorting stick.  The paddle is newer to the market and a safe way to handle your livestock.  They are available with or without BBs for a sound effect.

Spring has sprung and Summer is here.  It is this time of year that we love and enjoy working out in the yard.  If you are anything like me, you’ll find something new that you want to either add or remove from your yard.  It may be some new rose bushes that you want to add or a part of your yard that just isn’t working anymore.

I have discovered my love or preference to Daylillies, the regular and dwarf sizes.  They are so easy to take care of and I have added several to my yard this year and plan on several more.  It is getting late enough in the planting season that I  have a dozen more to set out and the rest are bulbs that I will plant for next year in my greenhouse and then set them out.  

I have found that to plant these, after they are about 4-6 in. high, it is easier to use a spade shovel.  It makes the hole large enough and it is much easier on my back to set the plant in and cover.  I planted over two dozen last year and this summer they are just beautiful.

Another project is my patio.  It is covered with river rock and does have a weed problem in the Spring.  It takes a couple of times of Round Up to be rid of those.  I then keep it nice looking by using a yard rake to keep it leveled out from the dogs and keep the leaves and limbs off of it.  It has a country feel to it when we entertain and has enough sand in the rock foundation to keep it pretty dry even when it rains.  We had discussed pouring concrete but, there are tree roots so close that it causes caution to go through with. 

I have finally decided that the rock foundation is okay and that I can decorate and landscape just fine.  I recently added some hanging plants and will be purchasing an octagon picnic table for the area.  I have a potting table off to one side where I prepare my plants for my garden and greenhouse and a bench that fits around the tree close by to sit on.  I have my water bucket close to my table and a rain barrel that catches the rain water off the house.  The garden hose is hanging within working distance to help with the watering of the garden and plants.  I have surrounded our home with plants and bushes of all kinds.

With my son’s help and my garden tractor and wagon, we were able to bring my plans for a rock garden, at the back of the house, to life.  We hauled several loads of rock to accomplish this task.  My partner was good enough to provide all the rocks I needed in different sizes. It took some laying of weed control fabric and muscle to finish this project but it looks beautiful now that it is done.

The other projects like planting Inpatients, Gladiolas, Marigolds, Black and Blue Sage and etc. required a little help from tools like trowels and small rakes and buckets for water.  You never know what tools you may need so I keep mine in a handy garden tool organizer to carry with me as I go from one job to the other.  The smaller tools fit great in an organizer and the larger ones I can lay in my wagon.  When I am done, I clean and hang up the shovel, rake and hoe and I can then hang up the organizer and keep all the small tools together.

I love the outdoors and can’t get enough of it.  There is always something to do outside in the fresh air and having the right equipment is a major plus.  If you don’t have what you need, borrow from your neighbors or rent from a local garden store.   There are many possibilities.

Baby chicks are just so adorable when they are a couple hours old and it seems, as if, they would be the easiest little creature to take care of and most of the time they are.  You see them at the local farm store for sale and you pick one up and hold it your hand and think something that tiny wouldn’t eat very much so you decide you want a few to have around and you take them home.  

You purchase a waterer, a feeder and some Chick Grower/Starter feed to get them all set up.  You are so pleased and happy, then you get home and then what?  Where do I put them?  Do I need a large cage/coop or a small one?  How do I keep them warm?  How do I keep them safe and the cats, dogs and other 4 legged critters away from them? 

Now, you are in a panic, wondering if it was a mistake and what were you thinking, can I take them back and HELP SOMBODY! comes to mind. 

Let me, first, ease your mind a little and say that chickens are probably the easiest animal to raise, in my opinion.  I have had chickens for three years and all has been pretty good.  A weasel and coyotes once in a while but otherwise okay. 

Next, let me confuse you some more.  I learn something new everyday when it comes to my animals, whether it be my chickens, calves, goats, cows, horses, dogs and cats.  There is always something that I don’t know and need to learn.  When I was a newby at raising chickens, it seemed to be a no brainer.  Just feed and water them, gather the eggs and butcher them when they are ready.  I did not realize that there were chickens for just laying eggs and there were chickens for just their meat and that there were chickens that did both, served as layers and meat chickens.  I, also, didn’t realize there were so many different breeds of chickens.  It just amazed me.  Here I thought it would be simple.

There is much more to raising chickens than one would think.  So I decided I would list a few basics, that I have learned, for you.  They are as follows:

1. Keep their waterers clean and filled with fresh water daily.  This is a must.  For Meat birds, access to fresh water is a necessity.  If they do not get plenty, they will not eat well and not gain the necessary weight as they should.
2. Keep feed to them at all times and keep free of feces.  I found that hanging feeders help prevent this problem.
3. Keep their coop cleaned and fresh bedding put down at least 2x a year.
4. Watch their droppings for change of color, normal being gray with white tip.  Any other color or texture, such as diarrhea, could mean an illness or disease.
5. Watch them when you feed.  Take a moment to just look at them for changes.  A normal, healthy chicken will have it’s head high and be active with a good appetite.  One that is lethargic or nonactive may be ill and need medicine or, at least, separated from the others.
6. Watch for  cannibalism, may need to remove the culprit from the others.
7. Give them plenty of room to roam and, at least, 6 to 8 hours of sunlight/daylight daily.
8. If chickens are confined, such as meat chickens, they only need enough room to get to waterers and feeders and room to rest.
9. Just like for other animals, there are horse vitamins and cattle supplements, chickens may need supplements also.  Giving them some extra protein, such as Oyster shells, will nourish them and also strengthen the shell of their eggs.
10. Watch the outside temperature.  When it is high in the summer, place a fan in the coop to keep a breeze flowing.  If it gets up to or over 105°F your chickens can die, they cannot handle that kind of heat.  When it is cold in the winter, the temperature in the coop needs to be at or above 35°F in order for them to stay warm.  Did you know a roosters comb can freeze off?
11. Watch for diseases and worms.  The disease Coccidiosis, caused by parasites, can be treated by vaccines.  Round worms and tape worms can also be treated.  If suspected, take a fecal sample to the vet, collect it and put it in a plastic bag, to be tested.  The vet can then tell you the treatment needed.
12. Chickens can get Cancer.  There are two that are more common than others; Merek’s which affects chicks under 4 months of age, to which there is a vaccination available and Lymphoid Leucosis, which affects those older than 4 months of age, and no vaccine is available, death is likely.
13. Make sure your coop is critter free and safe for your flock.  Train your chickens to come in at night, at feeding time is a good way to train, and shut them in for the evening.  Then let them out to roam and play of a morning.  This will keep them pretty safe from the varmints that like to sneak around at night.

These are just a few of the things I have learned raising chickens.  I did not plan on being a “chicken farmer” so to speak but, now that I am, I enjoy my flock. 

One other thing I have learned, is that chickens are great for your compost pile and your garden.  All that scratching and eating bugs sure helps around the farm.

So, as I mentioned, chickens are pretty easy to raise and most of the time there are no serious problems, just keep to the basics and you’ll do just fine.

A big “Thank You” must go out to the local farmers and schools for giving our children a day to explore and learn about one of the oldest and best lifestyles around, Country Life on the Farm. 

Here in Illinois, we have local schools that get together, one day a year, with farmers and let children see, hear, touch and get the feel of the farm.  Farmers use the local livestock barn to bring in baby animals, such as calves, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, rabbits, horses, kittens, puppies and even the mamas for the children to pet and see.

A lot of these children, even though we are a farm community, do not get the opportunity to actually see farm animals because they live in town.  This gives them a chance to learn about farm life and how these animals are cared for and raised. 

There are also tractors brought in and wagons, and the children get to go on a wagon ride, they get to climb up in a tractor to see the inside, as well as a combine and fire truck and other farm and livestock equipment. 

Also available, was different grains in which the farmers plant in their fields to grow for crops and feed.  The children all get to touch and feel the different textures of the grains. 

This is a wonderful field trip for the children.  It gets them outside and helps them learn of another way of life.  It is amazing to me that there are so many young people today that have never been on a farm or even seen a farm animal up close and most of them have just seen them on tv. 

It is a wonderful way of life and yes, it is a lot of work but well worth the effort.  I commend the schools and farmers for taking time out of their schedules to do this for the children.  The children will always remember that moment when they held that little animal and had so much fun.

This is my nephew’s pre-k class at Franklin Park School in Salem, Illinois.