By DEBBIE WACHTER MORRIS

dmorris@ncnewsonline.com

Lawrence County fourth-graders were amazed to learn that hens can lay eggs of different colors.

They learned that apples — not applesauce — grow on trees, and that beef cattle feed has molasses in it.

They watched a sheep being shorn, felt freshly clipped wool and yelled “eeeewww!” in unison, laughing as a Holstein dairy cow relieved herself in front of them. They learned that dairy cows can live 16 or 17 years and are usually 2 years old when they have their first calves.

Beekeeper Bob Travis of New Wilmington taught them how bees make honey. Barbara Nichols, a master gardener, told them that just about everything they eat contains soybeans, and that the United States, as the top producer of soybeans, exports most of them to China.

AG ENCOUNTER

More than 1,000 students from the eight school districts in the county were bused to the fairgrounds last week for a hands-on, up-close look at farm life.

They “oohed” and “aahed” as they petted a Holstein calf, and giggled as they touched the back of a 250-pound pig. A live rooster in a pen was a prop as they learned the life span of chickens and at what age poultry and steers become meat on their dinner tables.

They sat at rapt attention as Future Farmers of America students from Laurel, Wilmington and Mohawk high schools rattled off these and more facts at the various stations of Ag Encounter, an annual farm education event sponsored by the Lawrence County Cooperative Extension Service.

New Castle High School student peer leaders guided the youngsters to each theme station of dairy, beef, sheep, pigs, poultry, bees, soybeans, corn, soils, apples and vegetables.

“This is as close as some of these kids will ever get to a farm,” commented John Scott, regional director of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

“Look around and see if any of them look bored.”