Teaching Animal Agriculture to Young Children

Improving public awareness of the role of food animals requires education. Two educational programs in Georgia were developed to expose children to factual information about animal agriculture.

The annual Animal Science First Grade Field Day, conducted at the University of Georgia's Coastal Plain Experiment Station at Tifton, has reached more than 5,200 first-grade students since its inception in 1988. A unique feature of this program is the classroom instruction prior to the field day demonstration phase. Lesson plans were developed in cooperation with teachers. The students typically study food animal agriculture for one to two hours each day for 10 days prior to the field day.

At the field day, students see demonstrations involving dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, swine, and catfish. An experiment station employee is a guide on each school bus. Groups rotate among three demonstration sites. They spend about 12-15 minutes at three demonstrations at each site for a total of nine presentations. They listen to scientists and technicians. The beef and sheep site consists of a roping demonstration; instruction about a beef cow, calf, yearling, and bull; and discussion of sheep and lamb management. At the swine and aquaculture demonstration site, children hear about catfish farming; see a farrowing house; touch a baby pig; and hear how pigs grow. When students visit the dairy site, they participate in bottle feeding a calf; see cows being milked; and hear how cows are fed and managed. An ice cream treat helps reinforce the relationship between product and source.

Coloring books, provided by commodity groups, are given to the children, ensuring further exposure to information about animal agriculture occurs after the field day. Most classes send thank-you letters from the children detailing their experiences at the farms. Drawings of their favorite animals and activities usually accompany the letters.

The pre-visit lessons are the key to the success of this program. It is viewed by teachers and school administrators as an educational program and not just a field trip where children only see animals.

Since 1993 a dairy display and educational program has been presented at the Georgia National Fair with a theme of "Our Friend the Dairy Cow." Each year during the fair's October run, hundreds of children make field trips to the grounds to tour facilities and see animals on display. The fair requested an educational program that would complement the tours.

A tent next to the milking parlor houses exhibit and provides the seating for spectators. The exhibit features two life-sized model cows designed and erected by the Extension art department. The Holstein cow illustrates the four compartments of the ruminant stomach while the Jersey cow shows the position of a calf inside a cow near the time of calving. The amount of milk produced daily by an average cow is depicted by milk cartons. The amount of hay and other feedstuffs consumed daily by a Holstein cow are displayed, as well as a milking machine. A table located between the cow exhibits holds a display board and video player. The display board shows facts concerning the types of feeds consumed by a cow and the amount of milk produced. The video player is used to show segments from the "Make Mine Milk" video prior to the presentation. A logo was developed and used on signs and banners. Speakers wear caps and tee-shirts with the logo.

The fair staff scheduled groups of elementary school children (kindergarten through fifth grade) to visit the display and hear a 15-to-20-minute presentation by Extension specialists about "why the dairy cow is our friend." The cow is our friend because she gives milk for her calf and for the farmer to sell to us. The cow's digestive system allows her to eat feed that could not be consumed by people. The cow turns the feed into a nutritious product for us to drink and dairy products for us to eat. A key is to ask children questions during the presentation such as, "How does the calf (or farmer) get milk from the cow?" Children in the 5-to-8-year old range usually respond enthusiastically. Following the presentation, teachers are given cookbooks or coloring books for the children. Classes then visit the milking parlor.

Teachers were asked to evaluate the presentation and exhibit. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent), teachers rated the program at 9.5 as an educational experience for children. Surprisingly, teachers rated the program at 9.1 as a learning experience for adults. A rating of 8.7 was given in response to the question of how much the children appeared to learn. Ninety- two per cent of the teachers said they would consider adding information on the dairy cow to the classroom curriculum if materials were available.

In summary, two programs were implemented to provide information on animal agriculture to young children. Comments and requests for continuation and expansion indicate that both programs were successful, and could be adapted in many variations to teach children about agriculture. The result is a better informed public as these children mature into adults.