An east-central Saskatchewan farm played host to a Food Farm event on Tuesday.
Jennifer and Jordan Lindgren of Lindgren Farms in the Norquay area hosted about 170 students from Norquay, Preeceville, Sturgis, Canora, Invermay and a local Hutterite colony and Mennonite school.
Jennifer Lindgren says the kids learned the basics of agriculture, from how to milk a cow, to seeing what a 75,000 bushel bin looks like on the inside, and seeing equipment on display such as a drill and tractor and a spray drone. She says students also learned about why fertilizer is needed to grow crops, first-aid, farm safety and even saw some animals.
"We got a highland calf and some baby goslings and we had a sheep come and the sheep got away but it's running around the farm somewhere. It's kind of our farm mascot now." she said.
Lindgren says many of the students have never been on a farm before, so it's important for them to understand where their food comes from and how it's safely grown.
"It's always exciting every year when they get off the bus. They're pretty excited to get their new food farm shirts and see what new things they're going to learn and it's amazing. This is our every day but to them they see all the big equipment and the bins and their eyes open up pretty wide and they're pretty excited to be here on the farm.
"Jordan and I are very passionate about agriculture and what we do and sharing it with all the kids in the area is a highlight for us for sure. Being able to teach them where their food comes from, that most of the food that they eat every day comes locally. The oatmeal they eat is grown from here. Also being safe on the farm is extremely important. If you're not from a farm, you're either visiting a farm or you see them and it's important for them to understand to be careful and be aware of their surroundings. Also just being able to see when they see the equipment in the field, whether it's seeding or spraying or harvesting, just kind of they have a better understanding of what that equipment's doing and why it's doing it." Lindgren said.
She also thanked the schools for their continued support as well as sponsors and partners who helped make it happen.
(With files from Doug Falconer, CJGX)