Today my friend Kassie and I traveled to the Mississippi Valley Fair! I got wind that their new education barn was fantastic and I had to see for myself. Boy were they right! I could hardly get Kassie away from the interactive petting zoo. And the vet station was perfect for all ages! I was able to listen to a dog's heartbeat and draw blood all while being entertained by some awesome and funny vet students. School is approaching but before the days get shorter be sure to cross these 8 fun summer ag activities off your list. 1. VISIT A COUNTY FAIR: 2. VISIT THE IOWA STATE FAIR 3. CHECK OUT FOOD EVOLUTION AT THE IOWA STATE FAIR 4. VISIT THE IOWA AG LITERACY FOUNDATION FOR AWESOME RESOURCES AND BOOKS 5. ATTEND 4-H OR STEM CAMPS 6. VISIT A FARM (family/friend or public like Hansen's Dairy) 7. TOUR A SILOS AND SMOKESTACKS PARTNER SITE 8. VISIT A NATIONAL, STATE, OR LOCAL PARK

It is hard to believe that one month is already almost here and gone. I am learning and experiencing so much! Linn County has welcomed me with such kindness. What better way to kick off my summer than to attend the National Ag in the Classroom Conference? As the Linn County Farm Bureau Education Outreach Coordinator, my goal is to increase youth awareness on the importance of agriculture, agriculture careers and the benefits provided by agriculture throughout and individual’s life by providing classroom visits, agriculture days, fair activities and Iowa Core aligned lesson plans. “Show Me Agriculture,” took place in Kansas City, Missouri. We made a detour on the way down to stop at Shatto Milk Company. I fell in love with the flavored milk and old-school glass jars. I of course had to try the coffee flavored milk ;). I bought two for the road! Our home has a country chic feel and the bottles add a nice touch. First thing Wednesday morning we hopped on a bus to tour a few important spots near Kansas City. I always heard about the American Royal but we never had a chance to exhibit in the livestock show so this tour was particularly cool to see. It was neat visiting the museum and livestock arena. The education director showed us the livestock scale. The scale compares and converts human pounds to the equivalent weight in steers, hogs, and chickens. Who knew there were so many ways to teach agriculture? I attended a few amazing breakout sessions. People from all over the US are just as excited about our future generations as I am :). The session: Love of Cows and other Joys in Agriculture, encouraged participants to think outside of the box. Brainstorm with art and crafts- how might they be used to inspire and teach youth about where their food comes from? Kathleen shared with us her secrets to drawing the difference between a dairy and beef cow. Can you tell which one this is? Comment below if you have a guess. I had a first hand experience with making flour! It is such a awesome and simple idea! All you need is wheat seeds, 1 jar, and a pepper grinder. By placing the seeds into the grinder and making flour, many conversations are sparked. What foods can be made from flour? Who grows wheat? and What jobs are created from the production of wheat? Many other examples were captured in my journal but I don’t want to give away all of my new ideas! You will have to keep following to stay up to date! As everyone’s spirits were high and motivation was stirring, we were greeted and encouraged by Greg Peterson. In 2012, Greg founded the “Peterson Farm Brothers” with his siblings. Together they agvocate for agriculture through parody videos, presentations, and blog writing. Checkout all of their awesome videos!!

What is a ruminant animal? How many stomachs does a cow have? Can people digest grass? Linn County fair goers sought out the answers to these questions during Youth Day Thursday, June 29, 2017. This activity was designed based on the National Ag in the Classroom Matrix lesson “Got Guts.” A ruminant is a animal with a multi-chambered stomach. Cows have 4 main chambers- rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. To demonstrate the process kids digested their own hay with water, hot water and lemon juice. With each step came a new chamber. Cud, partially digested food from a ruminant animal which is regurgitated to the mouth for further chewing- “Chew” the hay and place in cup Rumen, good bacteria helps break down food- Add water and stir Reticulum, sorts the particles and brings the large pieces back to be regurgitated in the form of cud- Pick out large particles Omasum, small chamber that helps with flow to abomasum- Add hot water and stir Abomasum, contains strong acids and enzymes- Add lemon juice and stir Starting with the dry hay and moving counter clockwise we can see the hay being digested through the 4 chambers. Question: How many stomachs does a cow have? Answer: One with multiple chambers! Last summer I did a similar activity during 4-H vet camp and kids really enjoyed the hands-on portion of the lesson. This could easily be incorporated into a classroom. Make it a multi-unit lesson or complement another lesson by conducting this activity. Would you like to see agriculture in your Linn County school? Contact mball@ifbf.org to schedule a classroom visit.