MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Colquitt County Farm Bureau’s Greta Collins partnered with the Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks and Recreation Authority to host an Ag Classroom Tuesday, June 7, at Main Street Park in honor of National Dairy Month. 

Aside from selling insurance, the Farm Bureau educates elementary grade students on the importance of agriculture, especially in the production of food and clothes. Throughout the school year, the Colquitt County Farm Bureau hosts programs for elementary schools in order to engage with them. 

More than 20 children attended Collins’ program, and they were attentive to the book, Farming, that Collins read. Facts about dairy farms were explained to the children. It was stated there are 120 dairy farms in Georgia that collectively house 72,000 dairy cows. While the number of dairy farms have decreased, the dairy industry contributes $836 million to the Georgia economy annually.

In addition to the dairy facts, Collins educated the children on different areas of farming. Collins explained the procedures that had to be taken in compliance with food safety guidelines in packaging the cabbages. 

After reading the book and sharing educational facts, Collins was assisted by her husband, Sean Collins, who set up the materials needed for making homemade ice cream. Dustin McDowell, Hamilton Elementary School teacher, and Jennifer Kinard, Odum Elementary School teacher, who each brought their respective children to the event, assisted with the program as well.

In brief interviews, Mr. Collins, McDowell and Kinard all commented on the importance of agriculture and the programs Mrs. Collins and the Colquitt County Farm Bureau host. 

“Mrs. Greta does a great job with doing Ag in the Classroom at the elementary schools,” Kinard said. “The kids love it. They like to do all of the activities that she brings for them.”

McDowell commented, “I think all kids need to learn about agriculture county-wide…We need to incorporate it in every school.”

“June is national dairy month,” Mr. Collins noted. “The average dairy farm has increased in size as far as the number of cattle, and farming is more efficient today. This is what Farm Bureau does and where a lot of their money goes as far as membership — youth agricultural programs.”

Because it is Dairy Month, Collins brought the necessary materials to make homemade ice cream. 

The children lined up and were given a big Ziploc bag with ice. After receiving the ice, each child went back to their seats and waited to have salt poured into the bags. After receiving the salt, each child was then given a smaller bag with milk in it to set into the other bag on top of the salt and ice. Then, they got to the fun part of zipping the bigger bag and shaking it until the milk hardened into ice cream. 

After the children ate their ice cream, they received small stuffed animals and homemade ice cream instructions from Collins — which concluded the program for the day. 

In a brief interview at the end of the program, Mrs. Collins said, “Today’s program is good for showing children what’s around them in agriculture. That’s what we’re here for…We’re not just insurance. We are trying to teach younger children about agriculture.”