“There’s dust on this pig!” shouted one fourth grader from Clinton West Elementary School in Tulsa.
Students from Tulsa Public Schools had a hands-on experience Monday morning learning about farming in the Sooner State.
That included everything from petting a pig to learning about handling dairy cows.
This kind of "farm-to-table" event has been done in years past. On Monday, it was hosted on the campus of Webster High School.
Sonja Stolfa, a registered dietician for TPS, said it’s important for kids to learn about where their food comes from.
“We don’t just get our food naturally from the grocery store, it doesn’t just make itself,” Stolfa said. “We have to learn the importance of preserving nature and getting good quality food.”
Alex Cox with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture said getting children familiar with farming could inspire them to grow up and take jobs in agriculture, a vital industry in Oklahoma.
“We have a lot of older producers and we’re not seeing as much young ones,” Cox said “Hopefully, this inspires them for their career opportunities. Maybe they can go and intern on a farm and fall in love with it. You don’t have to be from a farm to be a farmer.”
More than 3/4 of Oklahoma is made up of farmland, contributing billions of dollars to the state’s economy.
In particular, the Sooner State is the second largest beef cattle producer in the country.
