Pa. dairy farmer donates to local school

Sep 18, 2018

Mountain View Elementary School accessed a mobile ag lab

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A Pennsylvania producer is helping expose area students to agriculture.

Dave Graybill, a dairy farmer from Juniata County and director with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, donated US$2,500 to the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation’s Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab program.

The donation benefitted students at Mountain View Elementary School in Mifflintown, Pa., by covering a one-week rental of a mobile agriculture classroom last week.

The 40-foot trailer contains 12 work stations and allows students to perform hands-on ag experiments.

Dave Graybill

Ag education does not receive as much attention in elementary school classrooms as subjects like spelling and English do. But exposing young minds to agriculture is important, Graybill saud.

“Our schools have lots of curriculum requirements, and agriculture tends to fall through the cracks,” he told Farms.com today. “Many kids, even those in rural communities, may not understand where their food comes from, that’s why this mobile ag lab is so important at giving them an introduction to the industry.”

Ag education is also important for the future of the industry.

Farm families account for about 2 percent of the U.S. population, the American Farm Bureau Federation says.

Students may grow up to be the next generation of farmers, but they will definitely be consumers. Understanding food production now can go a long way in the future, Graybill says.

“We’re helping them understand how their sugar beets or corn are grown, or how milk gets from my farm to the grocery store,” he said. “Their minds soak everything up during school, and we want them to have the knowledge to be able to make informed decisions when they grow up and buy their own food.”

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau photo

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm