SYRACUSE — First-grader Robby Goins learned something new about shearing sheep on Tuesday.
"I didn't know they sheared them once a year. I thought it was once a week or once a month or something," Goins said while holding a ball of freshly cut wool, which he described as "greasy."
Goins and his class from Lakeside Elementary in West Point visited the Hamblin Dairy Farm on Tuesday along with some 1,100 other students and teachers in Davis County to learn firsthand what farm life is like.
Teacher Annette Sessions of Lakeside said her students seemed to be really interested in watching the sheep shearing and seeing how cows are milked. Even though West Point is a "semi-rural" area, she said many of her students had never seen a farm before, and many didn't know that sheep wool is turned into yarn.
"You talk about it in school, but when they see it firsthand, it makes a big difference," Sessions said.
The students toured the dairy farm, stopping to learn about milk and egg production and to visit a petting zoo complete with goats, chicken, sheep, rabbits and game birds.
Clearfield High School students who are members of the Future Farmers of America organization helped with the learning stations.
Raeschelle Larsen, 16, staffed the petting zoo. She says she enjoyed helping out with the farm activity because it gives her experience for her future career.
"I'm going to be a veterinarian," she said.
The Hamblin Dairy Farm has hosted Davis County elementary schools once a year for the past five years.
Stan Hamblin, who began milking cows on the farm at age 12, now runs the farm with his son and nephew. He said he likes to open up his farm to students because it gives them an opportunity to learn about farming and to gain more appreciation of where their food really comes from.
"I think it's important for them to know that the food they eat doesn't come from the grocery store," he said. "It's just a way for these young kids to get out and see what rural America is like. Some of these kids have never seen a cow before."
Utah County students are also visiting area farms this week. Some children are going to Harward Farms in Springville, while most go to the traditional location — Gammon Dairy in Vineyard, which has hosted the event for years. The eighth annual event was at the Gammon Dairy Tuesday and Wednesday and will be at Harward Farm on Thursday.
E-mail: ehayes@desnews.com