Hagley Farm School provided the perfect backdrop for pupils to celebrate National Agriculture Day most traditionally - by getting their hands dirty.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Grade 6 student leaders from East Launceston Primary School participated in a National Agriculture Day Kids to Farm event at the farm school on Thursday.
Practical applications of farming were the order of the day, with pupils put to work planting trees in the school's native arboretum, milking a cow in the demonstration shed with milking technology, and moving and weighing calves part of the experience.
National Agriculture Day is celebrated on Friday, but the Kids to Farm event was one of several conducted throughout the week to honour all things agriculture.
In other news:
Grade 6 pupil Zara Ellis said she had been to Hagley before when she was in grade 4, but she was enjoying the practical elements she was experiencing.
"I didn't really realise there were so many different aspects to farming," she said.
Miss Ellis said she'd never thought about agriculture as a career path, but the day had opened her eyes to the multitude of opportunities available.
Classmate Millie Tuakura said she was enjoying the hands-on elements and said working with the animals was her favourite part of the program.
Some pupils said they hadn't planted trees before, and they had not worked with dairy cows or seen shearing before. However, others said they had grown up on farms or around farms, so had first-hand experience.
Kids to Farms is a federal government-funded program run in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association.
Kids to Farm project officer Claire Robertson said the program was targeted at grades 3 to 6 and aimed to educate pupils about the practical applications for agricultural jobs.
It aims to encourage and facilitate engagement among upper primary pupils.
"The idea is to inspire them and educate them about the breadth of agricultural jobs out there," she said.
Ms Robertson said the focus was on practical applications of agriculture, to give the pupils work experience and to educate them that agriculture experiences were not just about the "petting zoo" aspect with animals.
Kids to Farm also has teacher resources available to assist teachers with teaching food and fibre production in their schools, particularly if they weren't a school with a farm attached.
There are 15 school farms in Tasmania of varying sizes across the state.
National Agriculture Day is marked on November 20. For more information on the Kids to Farm program check out the TFGA's website.