Fourth-grade students participate in a contest that mimics how worker bees bring nectar back to their hives to make honey during Ag Day on Tuesday. The contest was part of a demonstration by Carlson Cabin and Honey, a Mound City area honey producer. (Photos by Roger Sims/Linn County Journal)
By Roger Sims, Journal staff
rsims@linncountyjournal.com
MOUND CITY – Fourth-grade students from the four Linn County elementary schools descended on the Linn County Fairgrounds at Mound City on Tuesday to learn about the different aspects of agriculture. Dozens of students from La Cygne, Parker, Pleasanton and Mound City attended the Ag Day event sponsored by the Linn County Soil Conservation Service.
Starting with a talk from a beekeeping family to begin the morning and ending in the afternoon with a demonstration on milking a cow, students were introduced to different livestock, how to transplant a tomato plant, the routine and tools of a person who raises cattle, how to graft pecan trees, the importance of corn in the agricultural economy, plus an up-close look at the size of the tractors and planters that large-scale crop producers use.
Abby Powell, K-State Extension agent and owner of a cow-calf operation along with her husband, describes her daily routine and the tools she uses in working with her cattle.
FFA members from Prairie View, Jayhawk-Linn and Pleasanton high schools assisted in the daylong event, which included lunch for everyone.
This year was the second year that Ag Day has been held since it was put on hold for two years during the COVID pandemic. It was restarted last year by Stacy Reagan, District Manager with the Linn County Soil Conservation Service, with the help of Karen Tuggle, the former manager who had overseen the event for many years before retiring.
Prairie View FFA member Bella Stolle shows students how to transplant tomato plants during and Ag Day demonstration.
Jerry Peterson of Mound City shows students how he grafts pecan trees.
K-State Extension agents Franny Eastwood, center, and Kaitlin Bruner answer questions about the impact corn has on the local agricultural economy.
Mound City beekeeper Eric Carlson, center answers questions about honey production with the help of his daughters Lucinae, left, and Lillian Carlson during Ag Day on Tuesday, April 25. Carlson, along with his children and wife Tina, operate Carlson Cabin and Honey. The family gave a engaging presentation that kept the attention of fourth-graders from four Linn County schools for about an hour.