As she watched third-graders approach a dairy cow named Daisy and pet a 6-day-old calf, Karli Britton knew the work it took to pull off her senior project – an Ag Field Day at Lost River Junior/Senior High School – was a success.
“It’s so important to educate youth about agriculture and its role in the world we live in,” she said.
Nearly 300 third-graders from Shasta, Chiloquin, Peterson, Merrill, Malin, and Bonanza traveled to Lost River on Wednesday for the hands-on event. The students rotated between nine stations, where they met a llama, the calf and cow, rabbits, sheep, and chickens while learning about nutrition, hay, planting, potatoes, dairy, beef, sheep and poultry. Britton also decided to let the young students help pick a name for the baby calf. Students listed their choice at the dairy station, and Britton plans to announce the calf’s name in the next few days.
Lost River’s barn and greenhouse provided the perfect venue for Britton’s event and her 30 FFA classmates were knowledgeable hosts. Community partners who helped present to the third-graders included OSU Extension, Klamath County CattleWomen, Four H Organics, and Gold Dust & Walker Farms.
For Britton, agriculture is a part of her daily life and has influenced her career path. She is a member of FFA, and with her FFA classmates helps at the annual Farm Expo and provides hands-on agriculture lessons in Malin and Merrill.
Organizing the Ag Field Day at Lost River was fun, she said, but not without its challenges.
“You can plan and plan but it’s not until the day of that you are faced with things not going exactly the way you thought,” she said. “But ultimately it’s about the kids and the chance for them to get educational and hands-on experiences, and that is happening.”
The goal is to make the field day an annual event for KCSD third-graders. After graduation, Britton plans to attend massage therapy school in Arizona and further her education with the goal of therapeutically treating large animals recovering from injuries.