Fourth graders from around the Mission Valley field tripped to Buddy and Bridgett Cheff’s place south of Ronan last Wednesday and Thursday to see agriculture in action and to learn more about where their food comes from.

Put on by the Western Montana Stockmen’s Association, Lake County Conservation District, Northwest Farm Bureau and Natural Resources and Conservation Service, the annual Fourth Grade Ag Days aims to expose the 367 kids who attended to the many facets of agriculture.

A grassy area in front of the Cheff barn was dotted with students, eating lunch and talking about their experience at the ranch. After a morning of cows, pigs, honeybees and hayrides, the questions were: what is agriculture and what exhibit did you most enjoy?

“Aggg-ricu-lll-ture,” one young student said, drawing it out into at least two words. “My teacher told me what it was on the bus, but I can’t remember.” Tritt paused, chomped his cheeseburger and wiped his face on his shirt sleeve.

After some coaching he said, “I think it’s about growing stuff, oats and cows and stuff.”

Rhea from St. Ignatius Elementary said she saw pigs, cow and lots of tractors.

Takhesis from Linderman Elementary in Polson also saw the weaner pigs and found them “so cute.”

“I got to pet them,” she said. “They felt like skin.”

Oakley from Mission was also a pig fancier, as was Kolby.

Classmates Antoine liked both the pigs and the horses and wanted to learn more about the cows, while Dyami was a staunch supporter of the chickens.

Mission Valley FFA members Cooper Wayman and Brander McCollum talked to the students about the four very popular weaner pigs. Secluded in a barn in a small pen, the little oinkers could watch the kids and vice versa.

The young men explained how old the pigs were and answered questions from the younger kids, such as why their ears were notched, what kind of pigs they were, and what’s the difference between a pig and a hog.

Polson student Ana said her favorite exhibit was “dirt.” The “dirt” table was where Lake County Conservation members Amy Elkins and Rebecca Shoemaker had a hands-on presentation with different types of soil.

Ana’s friend Lilith was interested in the grain presentation offered by Mark Lalum, a former FFA teacher from Kalispell. He introduced kids to different types of grain and provided a hand-operated grain cleaner with screens, a grinder or two, and lots of different grain crops. Kids were encouraged to taste the grains, whole and after they were ground.

The cleaner’s wheel, eliminating tiny rocks and pieces of soil, ran on lots of kid power, and they also cranked the grinders.

Laif, from Linderman, favored the bee exhibit with honey.

“I got to eat the wax,” he said.

Apiarist Carey Swanberg brought bees, some honeycombs, and lots of information about these vital pollinators. The board she brought showed a side view of the hive. Of course, the kids had many questions, and they all got to sample the wax.

The youngsters, divvied into small groups, circulated through 14 different sections for a short presentation at each.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Wildlife specialists brought furs, antlers, horns and a fast-paced bean bag game.

Greg and Paula Schock, former dairy farmers, built and brought a plywood “cow” with a mechanism inside and a rubber udder that simulated milking so the kids could all practice. Greg also had a milking machine on display in the barn.

The Mission Valley FFA kids and a couple of FFA members from the Hot Springs chapter took turns with a pen of beef cattle.

Lake County 4-Hers and both FFA groups had tables set up to extoll the virtues of their organizations. Rueben Dalke was sporting his dad Jesse’s FFA jacket to show that membership could run in the family.

Ronan rancher Sharon Guenzler, who raises cows and quarter horses with husband Paul, brought a buckskin mare and colt for kids to view. She sat them down and talked to them about horse breeds, colors and uses, although the tiny buckskin filly stole the show.

As a potato farmer, Susan Lake talked about how much of the earth is farmable, as well as educating kids on ’taters and how they grow.

Rancher Buddy Cheff loaded up a hay wagon with straw bales, hooked it onto his tractor, and treated kids and teachers to a hayride through the field and forest.

One of the most important stops was lunch, featuring hamburgers donated by the Western Montana Stockman’s Association, grilled by Beth and Craig Blevins and served by local bankers and other volunteers. The kids washed the food down with chocolate or plain milk and had ice-cream bars for dessert.

Ag Days could not happen without the Cheffs graciously inviting the youngsters to their ranch. It also took a huge number of volunteers (100 in all) who presented an array of ag subjects for kids to digest, cooked lunch, served food, cleaned up, hauled in livestock, and made sure students know how important agriculture is to Montana’s economy.

    Apiarist Carey Swanberg listens as fourth graders ask questions about her bees and their life in the hive during Fourth Grade Ag Days. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Lake County 4-H members play Jeopardy with a group of fourth graders at Ag Days, hoping to interest them in joining 4-H. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Two fourth grade boys listen as Payton Adams, CSKT wildlife specialist, explains that moose shed their horns every year during Ag Days at the Cheff ranch. (Berl Tuskus/Leader)