Activities connect community with agriculture

The second year of Ag Day in Sanders County had a first time special attraction for the kids - "Barney the Bison" - and it wasn't a fake purple dinosaur, but a real life American buffalo.

The 4-year-old bison from the Harlow Bison Ranch of Thompson Falls was one of a dozen stations - one more than last year - in the Second Annual Ag Day at the Sanders County Fairgrounds last Wednesday.

"I'm so proud of our agriculture community in Sanders County and their willingness to volunteer to put on this day to teach kids in Sanders County about the different aspects of agriculture in our county," said Wendy Carr, the county extension agent of agriculture, horticulture and natural resources and the primary coordinator for the five-hour event. "There were a lot of compliments so I believe it was very successful," she added.

The event was set up for third grade students to learn about the agricultural field in Sanders County. Volunteers from around the county were scattered throughout the fairgrounds and buildings to show and demonstrate different aspects of agriculture from micro greens to a bison. One hundred and fourteen third-graders from all six county schools and a homeschool group had the opportunity to learn various aspects of the agriculture field, compliments of the Sanders County Extension Office.

Plains Elementary School had the largest number of kids at 39, followed by Thompson Falls with 35. Dixon School had the fewest with six and Noxon and Trout Creek each had eight. Hot Springs had 11 and the Sanders County homeschool group had seven.

Most of the stations were operated by the same volunteers as last year. Once again, Plains resident Bruce Beckstead and Marilynn Carr, Wendy's mother from Hot Springs, put on the Apple Cider Making station. One little girl said getting to taste the cider was one of her favorite stations. "I think our stations were awesome this year so we'll see if the volunteers want to do it again next year," said Carr, who added that she'd like to add more stations, but is limited on time.

Several students and teachers picked Hot Springs resident Laurence Walchuk's buggy ride as their favorite. It was Walchuk's first time to participate in Ag Day. He and his two Belgian draft horses, "Pete" and "Ross," took the kids on a quarter mile ride through the fairgrounds, stopping three or four times to let different kids ride up front. The buggy was on loan by Plains resident Warren Wickum.

For several students, Barney was the big attraction. Harlow Bison Ranch owners Melinda and Adam Anakalea, along with assistants Dan and Debbie Milligan, transported Barney to the fairgrounds earlier that morning and put up a small pen for their 1,500-pound bison. Carr said she loved that the kids were able to feed Barney and see a bison up close and personal. "Kids don't get that opportunity very often," said Carr, who came up with the idea for the outdoor agriculture classroom. The students fed Barney pellets and hay and several reached through the fence to pet him.

Melinda gave a short history on bison in North America and about Barney, which they bought as a calf in Conrad, MT. "Barney was a bottle baby. He bonded with people when he was very young and he likes people," said Melinda, who told the kids the difference between bison and buffalo and the different types of bison. She said that there are about 500,000 bison in North America, but only about 30,000 of them are in the wild, such as Yellowstone National Park and the Bison Range. "The ranchers are really the ones that are bringing the bison back," she said. The Harlow Bison Ranch, which has around 80 bison, is one of a handful of bison ranches in Sanders County.

"The primary goal is to educate the students about agriculture in Sanders County so that they know what sustainable resources are available in our county. Many times students don't know where their food comes from and this day exposes students to where their food can come from right here in our own county," said Carr, who's been with the Montana State University extension office in Thompson Falls for nearly two years. Carr said they selected the third-graders because most of the third grade classes don't have a field trip and most third-graders are at the age that they can join 4-H. "Hopefully, Ag Day will help students want to join this outstanding program to further their education in agriculture and horticulture or whatever interests they might have. The opportunities are endless when it comes to 4-H," said Carr.

Another first time station, but with a much smaller animal, was "Eggciting Chickens!" with Whitney Tanner-Spurr and her 10-year-old daughter, Kendall, along with their silky chicken "Shellie." Tanner-Spurr talked about raising chickens and the different farm and ranch birds. They had posters showing the parts of chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks, and they gave each student a sticker and a turkey feather from last year's 4-H grand champion turkey at the fair.

Dr. Stephanie McIntyre of the Thompson Falls Veterinarian Clinic returned, with the help of Mackenzie Tulloch's horses "Lacy" and "Charlie." This was also Tulloch's second year to help McIntyre, who had stethoscopes on hand so the kids could hear the horse's heartbeat and stomach. "The stomach was extra gurgly," said Thompson Falls teacher Sierra Lilly. McIntyre talked about a horse's basic physical and dental care and had some veterinary tools there to show the kids.

Members of the Hot Springs Future Farmers of America - Jack and Nick McAllister, Ben Aldridge, and Bill Detienne - participated for the first time in Ag Day by teaching the kids the art of roping. Most had trouble getting the rope around the dummy calf. Ollie Wilhite of Thompson Falls nearly roped his father, David, and himself, but couldn't quite get it around the target. Carr noted that Jack McAllister is number one in the Northern Rodeo Association for tie down roping. Next to the FFA station was the 4-H Games Station, where members of the 4-H club South Side Sparks - Claire, Andrew and Katherine Wrobleski, Mikiah and Melody Cook, and Sage Doble - talked about 4-H and provided games for the kids.

It was also a first time for Elizabeth Riffle of Thompson Falls with her "It's Harvest Time" station and her spiel on pumpkins, squash and gourds. Riffle gave each child a small pumpkin they could later decorate. Riffle's Waterway CSA Farm is having a Harvest Festival on Oct. 14 and 15.

Returning again this year was "The Dorper Corner" with Carissa McNamara and her son, John, with three of their Dorper sheep – all pregnant. They gave out a small toy sheep and a clump of sheep wool. "I loved that we had different stations this year and horses pulling the wagon," said McNamara, one of the event's coordinators. "There really isn't a favorite for me; the favorite was seeing so many community members come together to teach these third-graders about so many elements of animals and agriculture," she added.

Another favorite of the kids was Alan Hafner's equipment from his 3H Simmental Ranch. He and his son, Cody, went over the workings of a tractor, mower, bailer, and rake and gave the children a lesson on the process of making hay. "They asked a lot of questions on how the equipment works," said Hafner, who participated last year, too.

The "Buzz on Pollinators" station was run this year by Camas Prairie resident Emily Baker of the Eastern Sanders County Conservation District, who participated last year, and Morgan Owens of Green Mountain Conservation of Trout Creek. The ladies spent the day talking about the importance of pollinating insects, such as bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, flies, and hummingbirds. Owens said there are 15 different types of pollinators in Sanders County. "The kids were super engaged to learn about the different variations of pollinators here," said Owens, a first time participant in Ag Days.

Although it was the second year for the Western Montana Stockmen's Association to be there, it was a first for Nick Courville of Charlo, who talked about potential diseases for livestock and named dozens of products that come from cattle. He had on hand a cow and her calf that the Hafner family brought with them. And Kassy Moore of Plains was a repeat participant with her Montana Wild Roots microgreens station. Moore talked about the function of micro greens and had dozens of sample plants on hand.

Carr said they couldn't have put on such a successful event without the sponsors and the donations from local people and businesses. The hamburger beef was donated by Hope for Harley and the Marrinan Ranch. The Montana Farmer's Union donated buns, condiments, cheese, and plates. The fixings for the burgers and the apples for the cider station were donated by Waterway CSA. The Valley Bank of Hot Springs donated chips. The First Security Bank donated ice cream bars and Clearwater Credit Union and Western Montana Stockmen's Association donated the drinks. The Western Montana Stockmen's Association, Clearwater Credit Union and Eastern Sanders County Conservation District also donated money toward buying souvenirs for each kid to take home. The Eastern Sanders County Conservation District also lent a hand serving the food with the group of volunteer cooks.

"The day isn't only about Ag Day, it's about continuing on in their everyday lives with their families. It's to educate the students that they can even bring their families to most of the farms and ranches for tours or to purchase local produce, beef, and bison," said Carr, who grew up on a ranch in Hot Springs. "Agriculture has been in my blood since I was a kid and truly in my family blood since the homestead days," she said.

Carr said that with Ag Day, they hope to spark an interest in local agriculture and hopefully get young people interested in pursuing a career in agriculture and perhaps remain in Sanders County in pursuit of those agricultural occupations. Carr plans to continue Ag Day and possibly hold one in the spring and one in the fall.