County students learn about farm life

RED BAY – Franklin County’s students went back to the farm last week to learn about farm life before there was television, the Internet or even electricity.
The students visited Cypress Cove Farm near Red Bay. During their day at the farm the students learned about snakes, farm equipment, soil and other farm-related topics.
“The kids really like the milk presentation,” Dr. Susan Hargett, director of Franklin County Community Education, said.

The Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation office sponsored soil painting at the Farm days this year. Soils are different colors because of the mineral content in it. |Melissa Cason/FCT

“We have the dairy classroom out here to teach the students about milk and all the benefits of milk.”
During the presentation, the students met Coco, a Jersey dairy cow.  Coco is the smallest of the dairy cows, and she produces 55 gallons of milk each day, which is half the amount of the largest breed of dairy cow.
According to the presentation, Alabama only has 67 working dairy farms, which means our milk comes from places like Florida, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The students also learned about the benefits of drinking milk.
Milk has nine essential nutrients beyond calcium.
Hargett said the farm was open all week to area schools and Colbert Heights and Leighton visited the farm this year in addition to Franklin County students.
“We are very happy to have Colbert Heights and Leighton with us this year,” Hargett said.
“We open this up to area schools and we are glad to host schools from other counties.”
Farm Days is the second week during the school year where students converge on the farm.
The storytelling festival is held at Cypress Cove every fall and farm days are held each spring.
“The students really enjoy coming to the farm as an educational experience,” Hargett said.
“It is something we all enjoy.