Farm Field Trip

Kelburn farm had various stations to learn about agriculture while participating in hands-on activities.

We learned that half of the Canola seed is oil and the other half is grain. 1 bushel produces 11 litres of oil. The students scooped the seeds with a special tool, taped them to a strip of paper and crushed them. 

We found out that the drones have bigger eyes than the other bees and do not serve a purpose in the hive. The queen bee has a red spot on her back. The queen lays 2000 eggs each day.

We found out how farmers pay for their crops. We learned about crop insurance, what is necessary to produce a successful crop, and what farmers use to protect their crops (such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides).

Water flows down to the rivers and lakes. It is important not to pollute the water. Only 1% of water in the world is clean.

We ground the wheat seeds to produce flour. We discussed the various uses for wheat like cereal, bread and pasta. 1 bushel of wheat can produce 20 boxes of pasta.

Baby pigs weigh 1-2 pounds when they are born. The pigs will stay with their mom for 3 weeks before going to the nursery. A mother pig (sow) can weigh 500-600 pounds. A baby pig will go from 2 pounds to 260 pounds in 6 months! The mother is pregnant for 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days.

Broiler chickens are hatched in an incubator. It takes 21 days for eggs to hatch. It takes 5 weeks for the chicks to go from tablespoon size to weighing 4 pounds. 15 000 chicks are hatched every 7 weeks.

Dairy cows drink about a bathtub of water each day. Dairy cows can produce about 35-40 litres of milk a day. They produce milk for 10 months and then have a 2 month holiday (just like we do from school!). Holstein cows are the most popular dairy cow.

The students all got to feel the amount of suction a cow feels when it is being milked.

Egg chickens roll down the cage and are warm when they are first hatched. Brown chickens lay brown eggs. Only fertilized eggs have chicks. Chickens go behind the red curtain to lay eggs in private. The farmer can have 12 000 chickens in his barn.

Beef cows are smaller and where we get our meat. A beef cow can weigh between 1200 to 1400 pounds.

Elizabeth- "I liked the baby pigs with their mom!"

Kelaiah- " I wonder if farmers work at night and if they do, what do they do?'

Prinz- " I learned that dairy cows drink about a bathtub of water a day."

Uno- "I wonder if cows like waffles?"

Eli- "I wonder if the baby pigs drink anything other than milk?"

Adam- "I didn't like when the cow peed!"

Lucas- "I like when the baby pigs were drinking their mother's milk because it was cute."

Roquelle- "I wonder why you need a chicken and a rooster to have a chick?"

Bree- " I like the pigs because they are cute and I have never seen a baby pig before! I like to learn about pigs."

Madelyn- "Baby pigs are cute but it is not cute seeing them being born."

Sara- "I wonder if a pig would eat bacon?"

Jacob- "Pigs produce milk too! Baby pigs are so cute!"

Jaxon- "I like the pigs because they were so cute and they're Jacob's favourite animal."

Hunter- "I wonder if the baby pigs drink from the mother as soon as they are born?'

Jan- "I would like to be a cow farmer because I would like to pull their udders."

Huston- "I wonder if cows like sleeping?"

Braeden- "I like canola because it is cool!"

Ximena- "I wonder why the chickens have the red fold things on top of their head?"