Metro Students Experience The Tale of Two Cattle Farms

The Tale of Two Cattle Farms... Harding High School students ventured off campus and onto the farm; two very different farms. 

Kicking off the tour was a stop down in Goodhue County at the Luhman Farm. Students were met by ag enthusiast and regenerative farmer, Jared Luhman.

Students learned about the process of raising beef cattle and were introduced to different soil health principles that are important on the farm. Students were able to increase their agriculture knowledge and also ask their questions to an expert in the field. At Farm Camp, we believe allowing students to directly interact with the farmers and get their questions answered, helps share an accurate account of Minnesota agriculture.  

Following the Luhman Farm, the bus traveled to Wolf Creek Dairy.  With a true passion for educating all about agriculture, Barb Liebenstein welcomed the students to her dairy farm. None of the students had toured a dairy operation before so their curiosity was growing with each new area of the tour. Milking a cow by hand was one of the highlights of the tour (even though Wolf Creek uses new technology to do this daily).

As the metro students toured the barn, Barb was sure to educate the students on nutritional practices that she uses to ensure the cows' health. Students smelled the feed to guess what was mixed in to provide high quality nutrition for the animals.

At the very end of the tour, students were allowed to pet the calves, let them suckle on their fingers and even take selfies...after all these are still kids.

This experience gave students in-depth knowledge of the unique practices used on two different farms to raise livestock. Having an experience showcase educational objectives/curriculum educators are teaching in the classroom is exactly what Farm Camp aims to do! Let's show them instead of tell them.

If a Farm Camp opportunity is something you'd like your students to experience, reach out to our Program Director to get started!