COEUR d'ALENE - Sammie Beaulac was quite animated as she described her first experience milking a fake cow.

"Well, at first I was kind of nervous because when I squeezed it, it felt weird. And then the water came out and some of it got on my hand. I'm thankful it wasn't real milk," she said, scrunching up her face and making a squeezing gesture with her hands. "It was really fun, even though it wasn't a real cow, but it's almost exactly like a real cow."

The Spirit Lake Elementary School fifth-grader joined about 350 other Lakeland School District fifth-graders for "Farm to Table" day at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. The students were split into groups as they learned about different aspects of farming, agriculture and natural resources, from the soil to the plate.

The black-and-white Holstein model cow and a real Jersey cow were at the dairy station, presented by Verland and Carla Woempner of Harrison. The Woempners, who are members of the Kootenai/Shoshone County Farm Bureau, raise beef cattle and have many years of experience with dairy and beef bovines.

"Milk now brings more money into the state of Idaho than potatoes do," Carla explained to enraptured students. "It's the No. 1 cash crop in the state of Idaho."

Students participated in many exhibits - they ground wheat into flour, learned about the historic role of equines in agriculture during horse-drawn wagon rides, interacted with sheep and goats and engaged in other educational farming activities.

Betty Kiefer Elementary School fifth-grader EmmaLee DuVall said she enjoyed learning about sheep's wool and watching the yarn spinning demonstration because she crochets.

"It was pretty cool seeing how all the yarn that I use is made," she said.

Nick Esteph, 13, of Careywood, nonchalantly milked a goat while he helped with the goat and sheep station. Students walked up to him to ask if they could try while he described life on a farm and the tricks to goat milking.

"It's not very hard, you just have to know how," he said, gently moving the goat's hind foot when she attempted to step backward. "The main problem with the hooves is sometimes they'll step in the bucket or knock it over."

Organizing "Farm to Table" was a mission accomplished by Linda Rider, a longtime fair board member. She said she worked with fairgrounds manager Dane Dugan, retired Lakeland teacher Joy Crupper and fair board vice president Mary Larson to make the event a reality.

"When I interviewed (for the fair board), I said 'This is one of my goals,'" Rider said.

Rider, a 4-H mom, imagined expanding 4-H-type education to other children in the community who may never have had the experience of raising livestock or being hands-on with the farming lifestyle.

"We have a disconnect that we don't understand as a society," she said. "Everybody says, 'Oh I don't need to worry about the farmer because I can just go to the grocery store.' And a lot of times there are political things, policies that are made, where people go, 'Well, we don't need to worry about this, it's a farmer thing,' but they don't understand that farming is how we eat. It's very important. We just think that this is a good place to start that education."

Aubrey Hoxie of Rathdrum is with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She explained to the fifth-graders the importance of crops and topsoil.

"I love the kids' expressions when you're talking about crops," Hoxie said. "My demonstration I've been using an apple and comparing the apple to actually how much topsoil they have. It's amazing to see the looks on their faces when they really realize that there's not that much topsoil for us to farm, and how important it is to keep our soil where it is, keep our soil healthy.

"As much as this population grows, it's taken away from that farm setting. Nobody has any idea - even some adults, sadly to say, have no idea where their food is coming from," she continued. "When you're 12 years old, you can understand quite a few concepts and put into them that this is how we raise crops, this is where your food's coming from, this is how your beef is raised."

While this was the first "Farm to Table," Rider said many have hopes it will grow and expand so more students can experience it next year. Many of the fifth-graders agreed.

"It's really fun," Sammie said. "I've learned a lot. I like the sheep and the cow. I've had a lot of fun so far, I've learned a lot of things. I think all fifth-graders should be able to learn these things and experience life on a farm."