It is an ag education committee project designed to connect 4-H & FFA students with a 3rd grade classroom in the valley. 4-h & FFA students will regularly go into their assigned classroom and share about their steer project .
We would like to send a big thank you to our sponsors for supporting this project !
Double D Electric
5540 Table Rock Road
Central Point, OR 97502
Tanks Plumbing
541-879-3777
April 27th marked the first annual Calves in the Classroom Ranch Day, with a whopping 141 3rd graders from across three different school districts in attendance. The Calves in the Classroom project was launched in September by Project Coordinator, Tara Millan. To learn more about this fantastic program please visit jcstockmens.com/calves-in-the-classroom. Ranch Day was hosted at Randy and Beverly Wolf’s Ranch in Eagle Point. Our JCSA members and Junior Stockmen came out in full force ready to educate youth about the beef community and create a memorable experience for each student. On the morning of Ranch Day you could see the excitement in each child as they finally got to meet the steer they’d heard and seen pictures of for so long!
The six stations they rotated through were as follows:
1. Casey Moore of Moore Auctioneering bringing all the enthusiasm and teaching students the chants of auctioneers.
2. Randy Wolf gave kids an experience of a lifetime feeding cows off the back of a hay trailer.
3. Long time ranchers Lee and LeRae Bradshaw showed students around the corrals, weighed their class on the scale, and gave them a tour of the inside of the cattle truck.
4. Marti Anderson and Becki Kovach headed up the Cowboy Relay where kids put on a cowboy hat, boots and button up shirt, raced down the barn alley, jumped in the saddle and roped a dummy (an animal that needed to be doctored). Students had to get off their “horse” aka a bale of hay with a saddle on it, fill a syringe with water and shoot the water into the empty bucket, pick up their rope and run back to their team.
5. Beverly Wolf, with the help of Doreen Eary, Rene’ Nevin, and Laurel Ringrose managed a campfire for students to roast marshmallows and make the perfect s’more down by the creek as they listened to Mike Boren strum his guitar and sing famous cowboy tunes.
6. Steve Baldwin assisted at the Grooming Steer station where each Junior Stockmen showed their class what products and equipment are used when showing.
On April 28th we hosted a second Ranch Day Field Trip for 300 6th grade students. We all know that age group is a different ball game compared to 3rd grade. We also had a sudden 90-degree day, yikes! The day did go smoothly and many students for the “first time ever” experienced life on a working cattle ranch.
Students rotated through six different stations, which were:
1. Auctioneering - Casey Moore came back day two with just as much energy. He taught students a few chants, tongue twisters, had students practice bid calling, and they learned how he makes a living as an auctioneer.
2. Eagle Point FFA showcased horticulture, animal science, and welding in a hands-on way. Each student was able to plant a plant, use icing and graham crackers to practice welding by creating an edible finished product, and listen to FFA students talk about their current animal science projects.
3. Paul Wolf from USDA Wildlife Services was accompanied by colleagues Colby McAdams and Clint Broyles where they discussed predation, tools they can use to mitigate it and specifically how drones are being used. Students received a pair of Grange Co-op shades, so they could look up in the bright sun at the drone flying overhead.
4. Nate of Nate’s Custom Farm Butchering brought his mobile unit, went over the sub-primal cuts of beef using a ½ beef simulator and then had a competition to see which group could put together the ½ beef the quickest. Angie Millard of Holt Homes served two different delicious jerky flavors for students to compare that were donated by Rogue Meats.
5. Brand Inspector, Dinah Cantrell and producer, Kari Carlton discussed livestock identification and students were able to tour around the inside of a 48’ cattle trailer.
6. LeRae Bradshaw, and her helpers, grandson Bryce and Brock Willoughby, and Hayes Frutuozo showed students how to rope a dummy. LeRae also brought a ranch horse with her to discuss the role horses play in ranch life and basic safety around horses. Students truly loved getting to come up and pet her sweet bay mare.
During both days we served a delicious and nutritious hamburger lunch with cotton candy grapes, chips, and a popsicle for dessert thanks to our amazing volunteers. These events were partially funded by Oregon Beef Farmers and Ranchers, and we are so grateful for the support of the Oregon Beef Council.
Jackson County Stockmen's Association
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