The students learned how agriculture impacts their lives and their community. Volunteers shared information about cattle, swine, sheep, plants, tools of past and present, farm safety and farm to fork following the story of a marshmallow.

The students were divided into small groups and traveled the fairgrounds to six learning stations. One of the stations included learning about tools used in the past to plant, harvest and store grain. The students examined a variety of vintage hand farm tools and tried to guess how it was used to process a corn crop. Then they learned about the modern tools and machinery used today to accomplish that task on a larger scale.

Another station called Farm Safety may have been a favorite with the students, as they were able to climb into the cab of a large tractor. Students could experience what can and cannot be seen from the cab. They used the tractor’s mirrors to locate people on the ground behind. They discussed how difficult it is to see people, and how they should stay back around moving machinery. Students sat on an ATV and learned the importance of always wearing a helmet. They also learned how many people can safely ride on an ATV and the proper places to ride or drive.

Another learning station was farm livestock care and what each species provides. The students also learned what things help make soil healthy for healthy plants. Finally, the students learned the path from pig to marshmallow and all the tasks in between. There was a job for every student in the group — 20 different tasks to get to the marshmallow.

Students learn about Safety on ATVs, focusing on helmets, passengers on the vehicles and where not to drive.

Marshall County Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program can provide in class presentations, virtual lessons and farm tours or provide resources for classroom teachers to use agriculture to teach Iowa core concepts with their students. For more information on the Ag in the Classroom program contact the Farm Bureau office for information, 641-753-6637 or marshall.county@ifbf.org.

Farm to Table has been presented to elementary classes for more than 20 years at the Central Iowa Fairgrounds.

Students learn about the tools used long ago to plant and harvest corn and then compared those tools to what is used today.