Published: November 05, 2009 09:16 pm      

Penny for your thoughts

Students attend Food and Fiber

By Janet Jacobs

Daily Sun



Fourth-grade students from around the county came to the Corsicana Youth Expo Thursday and encountered Penny, a deceptively pretty Jersey cow.

Energetic and mischievous, Penny is a two-time mother who produces cream-heavy milk at her home at Southwest Dairies, explained farmer Larry Graham to the children. Just over 800 Navarro County children saw Penny being milked Thursday.

“They give milk because they want to and not because they have to,” Graham said before fielding questions such as “how do they make chocolate milk?” and “how many babies does she have?”

This was the ninth year for the Food and Fiber event, which brings fourth-grade students from all the county’s public and private schools out for the day to learn about corn, cotton, wheat and vegetables. Live pigs and cows (including Penny) were at the dairy, beef and pork stations.

Agriculture contributes about $40 million a year to Navarro County’s economy, according to organizers.

To make the day possible, dozens of volunteers, teen-aged ag students and agriculture professionals brought their displays and equipment to the barn for the day.

“This is a good opportunity for the kids,” said Pat Reed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “A lot of these kids think you go to the grocery store and buy a carton of milk and cereal and they have no idea where it comes from.”

After the groups of children visited each station, they were taken into the Fannie Mae Vernon room and treated to pizza, which included almost all the products they learned about.

Daysha Berry said she learned about wheat, peppers and cows. It was her first time to see cows and pigs up close, she said.

“Medicine comes from pigs,” she said, while corn flakes, dog food and honey mustard comes from corn, she said.

Asked what she learned, Lacey Herrin mentioned wheat, corn and cotton.

“It comes from seeds,” she said of cotton. “And you plant it in April.”

Asked what he learned, Gustavo Cervantes thought for a moment.

“You get belts from cows,” he said.

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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “Sound Off” on this story? E-mail: soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com.