Kids, Cows and Ice Cream! MSU Animal Science Student Designs Field Day to Share Dairy Story, Credits 4-H For Teaching Leadership Skills
7/24/08
Contact: Sara Long
517-432-1555, ext. 170
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- What could be more fun than kids, cows and ice cream? How about taking a turn at learning how to milk a cow, petting a baby calf and tasting fresh homemade cheese curds, all down on the farm?
To Ashley Messing, a Michigan State University (MSU) junior studying animal science, there aren’t too many activities that rank any higher than encouraging people of all ages to learn more about the dairy business, an industry she has been passionate about for as long as she can remember.
“Growing up on a farm afforded me the chance to gain an entirely different perspective about how the world works than if I hadn’t grown up on one,” she said. “I have a firsthand ‘behind the scenes’ understanding and personal appreciation for how our food supply is produced, and I feel the need to share this story with anyone who will listen. If we as producers of our nation’s and world’s food supply don’t begin sharing what we know with those who don’t, then our livelihood -- and our abundant and affordable food supply -- will be in danger.”
Hailing from a dairy farm in the Thumb area of Michigan, Messing wanted to share her enthusiasm for and pride in the dairy industry with young people, many of whom are several generations removed from the farm life. Designing a field trip experience to creatively illustrate the process that milk follows from the cow on the farm to the family table seemed like a natural project.
Messing says that her brainchild, called “An Udderly Cool Dairy Field Day at MOO-ville!,” was an opportunity for children and consumers alike to more readily make the connection between cows on the farm and the dairy products they purchase from grocery store coolers. The event was hosted by the MOO-ville Quality Creamery near Nashville.
“I developed the field day as a practical and fun way to educate young people about the dairy industry and the role that agriculture plays in our daily life -- namely, in producing the safe, nutritious food supply we eat each and every day,” she said. “Participating in various hands-on activities and sampling healthy, refreshing dairy treats at MOO-ville provided one more opportunity for people to actively take part in learning where their food comes from and meet some of the people who produce it.”
First-grade students from Maple Valley Elementary School and second-grade students from Grand Ledge public schools took part in the half-day dairy field day, which Messing hopes becomes an annual event.
Phil Taylor, MSU Extension dairy educator, who taught a session about the various feeds that dairy cows eat, said that Messing’s efforts exemplified what many of our dairy youth are capable of achieving.
“The leadership and organizational skills Ashley learned through her experiences with various dairy events -- experiences at MSU, through 4-H and working on her family’s dairy farm -- have prepared her to take the lead in developing educational and promotional events such as this field day, in addition to compelling her to become engaged with dairy industry partners and other producers to educate the consuming public about the dairy industry,” he said.
Taylor noted that even though the lessons taught at the field day were geared to school-age children, the parents and teachers were also listening in.
“Though the messages may be too complicated for some children to understand, the adults can usually understand them,” he said. “This is why I emphasized how important cows are to our society, especially their rumens. In other words, the cows consume feed that we either can’t digest or don’t choose to eat, such as silage or byproducts, and convert it into delicious and nutritious dairy products.
“Holding the field day on the farm really helped to convey the message because I was able to show the children samples of different feeds, how the feed is mixed together in a total mixed ration and examples of cows chewing their cuds,” Taylor said. “Nothing compares to seeing these lessons in person.”
Messing came up with the idea to host a field day geared toward young people when she served as the 2007 senior representative for the Michigan Dairy Ambassador Leadership and Scholarship Program. Recipients learn and earn their $1,500 scholarships by serving on dairy industry committees, conducting dairy-related presentations, hosting the annual 4-H dairy awards banquet, completing a minimum of six regional dairy promotion projects, and developing a master project that can be replicated elsewhere or become an annual event. Though the field day fulfilled Messing’s project requirement, she said designing the field day was just another opportunity to expand her leadership skills.
“Being involved in 4-H programs for 15 years taught me about personal and professional responsibility, and it also provided the framework for me to cultivate and apply the leadership qualities necessary to plan an event like this field day,” she said. “Becoming involved with the ambassador program permitted me to employ the skills I learned through 4-H, and it provided me with a venue to share my knowledge of and passion for the dairy industry with people of all ages, especially young people.”
For Messing, engaging and interacting with youth and teaching them about the opportunities presented by agriculture -- from hands-on learning projects in 4-H to the many prospective careers existing in the agriculture and food production industry that can be pursued at the nation’s leading land-grant university to understanding and appreciating the complex process that takes food from field to table -- is all in a day’s work.
“From start to finish, the field day was a tremendous learning experience for me, as it was for the other volunteers on the committee and the youth that participated in the field day,” she said. “If we were able to expand even one family’s knowledge about the dairy industry and how farmers produce food, then our effort was successful.”
To learn more about becoming involved with Michigan 4-H youth development programs, visit http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/cyf/youth/index.html.
#sl#