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Schools

Dairy farm spends day as a classroom

A group of Lecanto High School FFA students gets up-close lessons in ecology and the dairy business.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published April 8, 2005

LECANTO - The 22 Lecanto High School FFA students were gathered around two tables drinking milkshakes while Dale McClellan, owner of M&B Products Dairy Farm, told them about the dairy business.

The room was a loft in one of the farm buildings. Climbing a few steps more, students could see the milking operation in progress through the glass.

"How cool is this?" said junior Brittney Nolen, 16, as she watched the milking of the big black and white dairy cows. "I really like it. We've always done cows and stuff, but seeing it like this is really cool. I've never seen this, and I live next door. I want to be a dairy farmer."

The students were on a field trip with FFA sponsor and agriculture teacher Steve Richardson, who focused on how farmers and homeowners need to be responsible for the environment. M&B Products seemed to fit into Richardson's lesson.

"It's very environmentally friendly, which is what I teach the kids," Richardson said. "You want to reuse your land."

After the students watched a video about the farm and the milking process, they were given stuffed cows to keep and then taken on a tour. As they walked toward the pole barns where real bovines were shaded from the sun and cooled with fans, McClellen mentioned that along with hay and green chop (freshly cut grass), cows are also fed what others might consider waste: dried citrus pulp and spent brewer's grain.

"Cows do a lot of good things they're not given credit for," he said.

The farm is managed by McClellen's three sons: Leon, Bryan and Daniel. Leon handles the cattle, Bryan the irrigation and forage, and Daniel works with aesthetics and is cross-trained to fill in where needed. There are three open pole barns. Two house the cows, and the third is for milking.

The students walked through the two larger barns while the munching cows looked at them curiously as they passed by. Zachary Cunningham, 16, is a Lecanto High sophomore and works with cattle when he's not in school. He was impressed with what he saw. "I've never been to a dairy farm," he said. "I've never seen this many cows."

Junior Amanda Austin, 17, was impressed, as well. Known as a tree-hugger, "because I try to show awareness of a lot of things," she said, "I expected to be disgusted." Instead, she said she was sorry she had been so close-minded. The farm turned out to be "a much better place than I expected."

Amanda is in FFA because she really loves animals. Her teacher, she said, has helped her appreciate livestock as more than "cute animals."

At the milking barn, the students were given a demonstration of an abbreviated flushing. The barn is flushed with water after each milking. The waste is collected in concrete basins and later used as fertilizer.

McClellen mentioned that a tour of his farm would be available on M&B's Web site beginning Earth Week, which runs from April 18 to 23. The address is www.mbproducts.com

This wasn't the first time he has hosted students on his farm. The loft where they first met, he said, was built for students, particularly those interested in agriculture and FFA. He does these kinds of programs because he thinks he should.

"I feel like we have an obligation to help agriculture continue," he said. "We have to educate."

[Last modified April 8, 2005, 00:33:18]