Got Camp? Agriculture Day Camp!

Following the first week of camp (Cloverbud) Jeannie and I ran the Agriculture Camp.  We began the week learning about horticulture, greenhouses, and direct-marketing at the Green Market, run by Pembroke resident Mr. Ron Holdren.  Ron is a Virginia 4-H All Star, the highest honor a 4-H member can receive.  We had a great time looking around his greenhouses and learning about his business.  Not only does he sell from Pembroke, but he is also a vendor at the Blacksburg Farmers Market.  Ron really made our day when he gave the campers many different types of plants for the campers to pot at the end of the day and take home!

Ron shows campers around his greenhouses

The rest of Agriculture Camp was spent over in Blacksburg visiting several of the agriculture facilities.  Wednesday was spent at the Kentland College Farm.  There Jeannie began lessons on soil, by taking us to a soil pit to learn about soil horizons.  Mr. Dwight Paulette, the farm coordinator, showed us around and gave us a historical tour of Kentland.  At the College Farm there are many different types of research, from silvopasture to crop production.  As a part of our visit, we got to take a look how remote controlled airplanes contribute to agricultural research at Kentland.  Oni, a graduate student, explained to us how the airplanes capture samples from the air that contain fungi, molds, viruses, and bacteria that can contaminate crops.  We even got to practice flying planes in their computer model and watch an actual plane fly!  We finished off our first day at Kentland with yummy "dirt cups."

Campers got to practice their piloting skills with Oni at Kentland

Thursday was my and Jeannie's favorite day, livestock and dairy!  We did a self tour of the livestock and dairy facilities at Virginia Tech.  During the livestock tours, Jeannie taught the campers about different breeds of cattle and horse and how they are shown.  Campers got to a hands-on experience with the equipment used for the animals, including walking through a cattle chute!  From the livestock facilities, we traveled across 460 to the dairy.  Manager Shane Brannock showed us the milking parlor, the milk tank room, and the free-stall barn where the milking cows eat and sleep.  Shane also talked about the silage that the cows eat.  The corn for the silage is grown at Kentland Farms.  Barry, one of the assistant managers, showed us the calf barn and the automatic feeders.  Automatic calf feeders are a newer technology to the dairy industry.  The feeder identifies each calf and mixes up the specific amount of milk-replacer for that individual.  This is great time and calf management tool.

We wrapped up the week by visiting the Farms and Fields project at Kentland.  This time, the raspberries were ready for picking in the demonstration plot, and each of us got our fair share of berries!  We also got to help the farm crew bundle and hang garlic that had recently been picked!

Hailey and Jeannie bundle garlic at Farms and Fields

Agriculture camp was a great opportunity for youth to learn about where their food comes from.  From plants to animals, they were able to see and feel the industry that feeds and clothes us.  By having the students work, by planting or picking, they were able to reap the sweet results of their hard work.  I know they had just as much fun as me and Jeannie; but my true hope is that they came to respect the field of agriculture and continue to be informed consumers and maybe agriculturalists themselves one day.