Ag Awareness is sponsored annually by our Agriculture Extension office for all third graders in Stanly County, North Carolina. This was our fourth year to participate and I hope I can always be part of this event.
The first two years we had goats in-milk so the kids got to milk a goat if they wanted to. What fun for everyone ... except the does, that is. Pam Leonard bravely brought two of her does for us. They were super goats who tolerated the youngsters quite well. Most of the kids wanted to milk a goat but a few passed. It's a good thing we had two goats, too. This way, we could swoop out between the does, giving them a much deserved break.
While milking the goat was fun for most everyone, the real fun came when a milk squeeze went a rye and squirted on someone. We all had great laughs at that and everyone was scampering for their cameras to catch the moment. I imagine that dozens of photos are neatly placed in scrapbooks for folks to revisit throughout the ages and remember their milking goat days.
When Pam and her family moved we had to come up with a different approach. That was tough to measure up to that experience for the kids, but I believe we have done it. For the past two years, we've had two different types of goats: Boers (a meat goat) and Nubians (a dairy goat). This way the kids can compare the differences between the goats. While that's all good fun and educational, what the kids really like is the ten minute pet-the-
goat-time. Another perfect photo opportunity for scrapbooks.The boers are owned by Brenda and Larry Todd of the Circle T Boer Farm in Aquadale. Brenda is very knowledgeable and loves her goats about as much as I love mine.
Needless to say, we had a good time working together and talking about goats for three days. What a pair we made. A few of our photos are included in this article. Hope you enjoy them.
