AG IN THE CLASSROOM

Nearly 5,000 students look into the life of a farmer and his turkeys

Michael Johnson — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:00:00 GMT

Imagine almost 5,000 elementary students entering a barn filled with 40,000 turkeys. It’s not something that happens these days with important biosecurity measures in place. The technological advances of a virtual field trip provided by Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom make it possible.

That’s what happened just two days before Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, on a virtual field trip that is available for viewing on YouTube now, but was seen live by about 230 Minnesota classrooms during a half-hour tour. The trip was targeted toward kindergarten through fifth-grade students and brought in classrooms from all corners of the state. It was a near-record crowd for the tour, according to Sue Knott, Minnesota Ag in the Classroom education specialist.

The first virtual field trip hosted by MN Ag in the Classroom was in 2016. Since then, they have hosted about 37. Many are linked on their YouTube Playlist and are featured on the MAITC website.

On this particular tour, all eyes were on Hunter Kvistad, owner of Kvistad Turkey Farm, near Wood Lake, Minnesota, as he was sweating away inside his brooder barn. While it was 17 degrees outside, it was a roasting 100 degrees inside — just how the turkeys like it. The turkeys start out at 103 degrees, and the temperature drops about 1 degree per day until it reaches 74 degrees. That’s where they’ll stay until it’s time to ship them out at about 12 weeks old.

Kvistad paced inside a bright and clean poultry barn with young poults on either side of him. This was the second time Kvistad had welcomed students on a virtual tour inside his barns. The classrooms sent in question after question.

What kind of turkeys are these?

Kvistad explained that these are white, meat birds, not like the wild turkeys seen in the woods and fields or wandering the neighborhood.

“So these are the type of turkeys that will be on your Thanksgiving table,” he said.

In fact, Kvistad’s turkeys go to Jennie-O in Melrose, Minnesota, at about 16 pounds. He explained to students that they can look at the label on their Jennie-O turkey and find out the farm where the turkey came from. It’s always a joy to hear from someone who got a turkey from his farm, he said.

Kvistad also pointed out that all the turkeys in his barns are hens.

“In my opinion, they’re nicer,” he said of the hens compared to the toms.

Kvistad’s family has been raising them since 1972. He’s a third-generation turkey farmer. His dad and grandpa live nearby and are able to step in and help as needed.

What’s in the feed?

Kvistad explained it’s a formula of crushed corn, soybeans, vitamins and minerals essential to the turkey’s diet. The food comes from huge bins outside the barn and makes its way to the pens automatically so the turkeys have access to food whenever they want it.

Kvistad explained further that it takes about 2 pounds of feed to make 1 pound of turkey. His full flock might eat about a million pounds of feed and weigh in at nearly half a million pounds.

What’s in the bedding?

The poults were walking on a fresh bed of wood shavings and sunflower hulls harvested in South Dakota and distributed from Melrose, Minnesota, Kvistad said.

“So we use sunflower hulls for dust control — that helps with their respiratory system,” he said. The oil in sunflower hulls acts to hold down the dust.

When does a turkey sleep?

“They’re little babies, they sleep all of the time,” Kvistad said. “Wherever their hearts desire.”

Kvistad showed how some of the turkeys were sleeping as many others were busy eating and moving around the pens.

What precautions must a turkey farmer take?

Kvistad showed how he walks into the barn in one pair of boots and switches to another pair of boots he uses in the barn only. Before entering the turkey pen, he steps in a disinfectant and uses hand sanitizer on his hands. He comes in with clean clothes each time he enters.

“You never know what you got on you. Bacteria is really small, and I can’t see it,” he said.

Kvistad cares for turkeys 365 days a year as his full-time job.

How much does it pay?

Kvistad couldn’t say how much the turkeys cost or what they sold for, but he was paid to grow them using an equation based on feed and fuel costs.

“So it varies drastically based on the corn market, propane … it’s drastic the changes in price,” he said.

What is your favorite thing about being a turkey farmer?

“The satisfaction that this job gives me is unbelievable,” Kvistad said. He raises 240,000 turkeys a year. “And I am feeding so many people. I love feeding people.”

Kvistad, like other turkey farmers in the state, is proud to continue to be part of the process that makes Minnesota the No. 1 producer of turkeys in the country. Minnesota produces about 39 million turkeys a year. He said what many people don’t know is that most turkeys are raised by family farmers just like him.

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Proposed ban on bird hatching in Minnesota schools gets amendment following outcry

Michael Johnson — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 12:34:27 GMT

ST. PAUL — A bill being discussed in the Minnesota Legislature first aimed to ban hatching of all birds within Minnesota schools now aims to specifically ban the hatching of waterfowl.

HF 4655, which seeks to prohibit waterfowl hatching in schools — both public and charter, went through a hearing of the Minnesota House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee on Tuesday, March 12. The bill is authored by the chair of that committee, Rep. Samantha Vang, DFL-Brooklyn Center.

Vang indicated that the move to a ban on waterfowl hatching and away from all bird hatching came after she heard "loud and clear" from the agriculture and education communities about the importance of such an activity in their schools.

The amendment to ban waterfowl hatching was a small win for those preparing to hatch chickens this spring, but others expressed opposition to the idea.

The Minnesota Game Breeders offered opposition to the bill in a document shared with the committee.

“By taking away bird hatching in schools you are removing the opportunity to further open kids/students’ eyes to the natural world. The benefits of hatching birds in schools far outweighs any sort of negatives. Any health-related risks associated could easily be curtailed by following proper sanitation protocols,” wrote the Minnesota Game Breeders Club’s Board of Directors.

Minnesota resident Alex Fredin said a hatching program at Sibley East High �� directly influenced his decision to enter a career in waterfowl conservation and become an aviculturist.

“Classroom hatching programs can also be integrated into lessons about agriculture, introducing students to fundamental concepts such as breeding, reproduction and genetic diversity,” Fredin wrote in opposition. “This knowledge is foundational for understanding how these processes impact food production and sustainability. Connecting hatching programs to broader agricultural themes allows students to grasp the concept of 'seed to table.' ”

Vang explained that the reasoning behind the bill was multifaceted, that hatching eggs in schools was “cute and educational,” but that the best incubator is a mama bird, not an incubator.

“Fluctuations cause birds to hatch sickly, dehydrated and/or deformed,” Vang said in her briefing.

She added that hatchings can happen outside of school hours — a concern for the health of the chicks. She brought up health risks such as salmonella that could sicken school children. Concerns were also brought forth that hatched birds, especially ducks, were often released or escaped and can cause health concerns for both birds and humans.

Minnesota veterinarian Dr. Jamie Nalezny testified in support of the bill, saying that escaped birds can introduce diseases that are harmful to humans, wildlife and domestic animals. Nalezny advocated for using a brooder hen or offering egg candling lessons rather than taking on the incubation lesson in a classroom.

Rep. Paul Anderson, the Republican lead in the committee, asked, if there are such risks with hatching waterfowl, why not ban all birds? Nalezny responded that the urgency in banning waterfowl is because they can fly and are more likely to be released into the wild due to their nature of being messy birds that can’t easily be confined to a fenced area.

The practice of hatching chickens in particular is an annual part of many teachers’ education programs in the state each spring as they teach on the common occurrence of new life. The original language of the bill had teachers concerned about their ability to continue an important part of their lesson plans.

That’s the case for Verndale kindergarten teacher Sarah Bendson, who has been teaching kindergarten and incubating eggs in the classroom for 13 years. Hatching has always been a major focus for at least 21 days every April.

“For the whole month of April, they get to see, basically beginning to end, the whole life cycle,” she said. “To give them that experience, hands-on, is the most beneficial part of this.”

Bendson said teachers are required to teach about life cycles, and this lesson is one that students talk to her about years after their time in the classroom as something they enjoyed.

The amended version of this bill would not inhibit her from hatching chicken eggs next month, and if it becomes law, it would not be in effect until July 2024 for those looking to hatch waterfowl. Bendson said there is no concern of their chickens not finding a home each year because they go back to the farmer who provides the eggs and are utilized as intended.

“It’s so rewarding for kids to see life happen before their eyes,” she said. “It’s just a different level of excitement. It’s a different level of engagement."

Bendson is not alone in the desire to continue this education piece, as Tom Appel, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Agricultural Educators, surveyed agriculture teachers across the state before the hearing, and 210 out of 217 respondents hatched eggs in the classroom.

He said the association takes a neutral stance on the amended bill, as educators can proceed with hatching chickens if it passes. However, he expressed concern about losing bird-hatching lessons in the classroom.

The committee moved to have the bill laid over, meaning action is postponed until another day.

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Speed dating for Farm to �� connections

Noah Fish — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 13:00:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Across the state, Minnesota farmers looking to expand market opportunities, and school and early care providers who want to incorporate more locally grown foods in their meal programs are meeting face-to-face to see if there's a connection to be made.

Those relationships are being built at Minnesota Farm to �� Roadshows, which are free and organized by Renewing the Countryside, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Education and University of Minnesota Extension.

The second of six Minnesota Farm to �� Roadshows was held at the University of Minnesota Extension office in Rochester on Feb. 7. Attendees left the roadshow with a supply and demand spreadsheet along with a list of other resources.

Brett Olson, co-founder of Renewing the Countryside, described the roadshows as a form of "speed-dating" for local producers and institutions.

"The method that we use here is kind of like a speed-dating model, where you get to talk to someone face-to-face for a very short amount of time, and give them a little bit of your history, what you produce, and maybe something special that you do," Olson said.

Things that could be overheard during the Feb. 7 event were school district employees asking farmers questions like "What products do you grow?" and "Can you deliver?"

Farmers asked buyers things like "Who does the ordering?" and "What are your kitchen capabilities?"

Kate Seybold is the Farm to Institution Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. She said the roadshows offer a chance for producers to form relationships with school districts and early care providers.

"We've heard from both producers and schools that there's a lot of value in just being able to make those initial connections in-person, in the same room, and so we wanted to create a space for people to come together and make those connections," Seybold said. "While we're at it, let's give them some training on how to build effective relationships and help kind of talk the same language."

Several of the buyers' representatives in the room on Feb. 7 were recipients of the state's AGRI Farm to �� Grant program. Seybold said the department is hearing success stories from those grants, including one district which started by working with two local producers and is now working with 14 producers.

"Another district shared that they were working with five local producers last year, and are now purchasing from 27 this year," she said. "The purpose of that grant program is to help increase the amount of Minnesota grown and raised foods that are making their way into federal meal programs in schools and early cares, and to be providing support to our Minnesota producers."

Sara George is the farmer-focused program manager for Renewing the Countryside along with the operator of a small farm in Pepin, Wisconsin. She said sometimes it's hard for producers to know the right contact for getting their products into institutions like schools.

"The schools don't have capacity to have contact with all the farmers, and the farmers don't have capacity to leave the farm, and they're really not sure who to reach out to at the school — sometimes it's the food service director, sometimes it's the principal or the superintendent that's pushing these initiatives," George said.

She said farmers can be intimidated to work with a school that has hundreds or thousands of kids to feed daily, but they shouldn't be.

"You don't have to feed all thousand students, and maybe it's one meal a month," she said. "Or maybe it's in the salad bar, where they're utilizing the food."

After surveying 36 different institutions, George shared the top five obstacles that buyers of local foods face: connecting with farmers, consistency, reliability, delivery and pricing. She was surprised to find out that many of the institutions didn't know it was allowed for them to purchase directly from a farm.

"Twenty-six of the 36 institutions I spoke to stated that they didn't know you can buy from local farms," George said. "If you take nothing else from today, product of the farm is legal. Farmers grow local foods. That's where food comes from."

For farmers, the top obstacles were: relationship development, quantities, time away from the farm, pricing uncertainties and marketing limitations.

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FFA students to create a garden to engage all of the senses

Ariana Schumacher — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:00:00 GMT

ETHAN, S.D. — FFA students in Ethan have received a $500 grant from the South Dakota FFA Foundation to help start their community service project: creating sensory gardens and wheelchair accessible raised garden beds for people with disabilities in their community.

Ethan FFA Chapter Historian Amira Jerke is passionate about helping people with disabilities. Her mom works for LifeQuest, the community organization the chapter is working with on this project. LifeQuest works to provide opportunities for people of all abilities that can enrich their lives including skills training, or just offering meaningful activities of their interest.

“My mom works at the shop where they keep them busy during the day doing all kinds of stuff, fun activities like learning ... and she was talking about how they just didn’t seem to get outside enough. And that’s something that everyone needs to do no matter who you are,” Jerke said.

That inspired Jerke to apply for an FFA grant so she and her fellow students could build sensory gardens and accessible garden beds for the residents.

“I just got to thinking and in my head I could kind of draw it up like it would be so simple to make a garden bed that was wheelchair accessible, and it just hasn’t been done,” Jerke said.

Not only will the gardens work for those in wheelchairs, but the sensory garden will teach people with a variety of learning disabilities about plants and gardening using all of their senses.

“One of the things that we really like seeing is how the people with disabilities interact with the world,” said Brian Loken, Development Director with the LifeQuest Foundation. “Some people can’t speak, some people can’t move their hands or legs, so this way is using sense of smell, sense of maybe touch for some people, they are able to interact with their world in a new way.”

“I am a true believer that everybody has the ability to learn, it’s just the matter of how you teach them to learn,” said Susan Roudabush, Ethan Ag Teacher and FFA Advisor. “In my past, I have worked with students with disabilities, and I have found that if you give them something that they can hold, taste, smell, touch, that they remember much better. So that’s where the idea came from.”

They hope to have the project completed by spring, and the students are excited to be able to start teaching through plants.

“The project is really important to us because we are helping out the community — because our community is so good to us,” said Drake Gustafson, Ethan FFA Chaplain.

“I’m just most excited to see the reactions from the individuals. I’ve met a lot of them through the time my mom’s worked there and I know they are going to be super stoked about it,” Jerke said.

But the work won’t stop once the gardens are built. Students will spend time helping LifeQuest residents navigate the gardens and keep up with maintenance.

“They will be involved with setting it up and planting with the people we support,” Loken said. “It’s an interactive session where people can kind of get together and make a really fun day out of it, or multiple days.”

“I hope it just shows them that there is more things to do with individuals, they don’t need to be stuck inside doing the same things, we can keep continuing to add experiences for them,” Jerke said.

Right now, the project is only partially funded through the grant. The FFA chapter will be looking for community support as the project is expected to cost around $1,500.

“We hope to bring people in the community in to help us with that,” Roudabush said. “We are at ground level.”

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Ag education teachers are in demand across North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota

Ann Bailey — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 10:30:00 GMT

MADDOCK, N.D. — Gary Wald knew that farming was not an option when he returned to North Dakota in 1972 from a stint in the Army during the Vietnam War, so he started an agricultural career that he considered the best thing.

“My dad was only 42-years-old and my younger brother wanted to farm with him so I had to do something else. I said 'I'm going into ag education so I can be involved in agriculture,’” Wald said.

Wald, then-26, taught agricultural education classes for the next several decades, beginning his career in 1974 at Lake Area Career and Technology Center in Devils Lake, North Dakota, before moving to Maddock, North Dakota, in 1977 where he taught at Maddock High �� for nine years.

In 1988 Wald pivoted from his career in agricultural education to sell farm insurance, but he missed teaching. So in 1998 he resumed the career at Four Winds High �� in Fort Totten, North Dakota, where he taught for five years. In 2003, Wald returned to Maddock to teach agricultural education.

Wald, now 75, is retiring in spring 2023 after a total of 37 years of teaching agricultural education in North Dakota. His retirement leaves an opening for an agricultural education teacher, one of 14 in that field in high schools and at career and technology centers across the state.

Agricultural education has seen major changes in the nearly 40 years since Wald has been teaching.

“When I started it was ‘Cows and plows and sows,' but now, it’s agricultural science, it’s natural resources. It's really expanded,” Wald said.

Now he uses technology, including drones, Versaz lasers and 3-D printers in his classroom to teach his classes.

Wald’s profession has changed not only in terms of what is taught, but also in the number of programs in North Dakota and across the northern Plains. His career also illustrates the marketable skills that agricultural education teaches, which demonstrates why the number of programs have grown, leading to many unfilled positions in the state and in South Dakota, Minnesota and across the entire United States.

“We’re all experiencing this,” said Adam Marx, North Dakota State University associate professor and program evaluation specialist. “I think if we look at just the landscape of the teacher shortage in agricultural education, nationwide, we are roughly in the same position we were 10 years ago.”

While those shortages had been the result of retirements, in 2023, retirement is not the most common reason that positions are available across the northern Plains.

Instead, many of the agricultural education jobs that are available in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota are the result of the addition of programs at high schools and career technical centers or expansion of existing programs.

In North Dakota about a dozen agricultural education teaching positions have been added in the past nine years, Marx said.

“Of course, that contributes to demand,” he said.

“Agricultural education has emerged in communities that didn’t have agricultural education, previously,” Marx said. “It has expanded because of demand, and it has replaced industrial arts and technical education positions, and that has created more positions.”

The agricultural education landscape is similar in Minnesota.

“The demand is just crazy. It’s unreal,” said Nathan Purrington, agricultural education lead at University of Minnesota Crookston. “I have had several emails and phone calls saying we’re adding or having an opening in their programs.”

Of the 36 agricultural education job openings in Minnesota as of March 6, 2023, just one was available because of retirement, said Lavyne Rada, University of Minnesota Teacher Induction Program for agricultural educators advisor and Minnesota FFA program manager and regional supervisor.

“It’s not a retention issue. It’s a growth issue. It’s a great problem to have,” Rada said.

In South Dakota, there also is demand for agricultural education teachers to fill programs across the state, said Laura Hasselquist, South Dakota State University �� of Education assistant professor.

“We’re seeing this tremendous growth in programs in urban districts, rural programs that are starting up,” Hasselquist said. “They have some really high quality agricultural programs in the suburbs.”

Agricultural education programs in North Dakota also are growing because of the expansion of career and technical education programs, said Nikki Fideldy-Doll, North Dakota agricultural education supervisor and North Dakota state FFA advisor.

“Teachers can teach a variety of things that fall under agricultural education,” Fideldy-Doll said. North Dakota has nine career and technical centers and many schools across the state have at least one in-house agricultural education program.

Wald teaches six classes including agriscience, agriculture mechanics and community development to junior high and high school students at Maddock High ��. He also is the high school’s FFA advisor.

Wald taught valuable lessons inside and outside of the classroom, said Hailey Maddock, one of his former students. Maddock is North Dakota FFA state vice president and a freshman at NDSU.

“He taught me about responsibility and work ethic and that, obviously, helps me a lot in college when you want to procrastinate and you need to get something done,” Maddock said.

Maddock, who is pursuing a degree in journalism at NDSU, believes that agricultural education classes are important for high school students, no matter what career path they choose.

“Agricultural literacy is getting lower and lower as time goes on," Maddock said. "When people get involved in agricultural education, they learn about the positive impact it has on the world.

“It allows us to raise a generation that understands the importance of agriculture in the world, not just in our small communities,” Maddock continued.

Secondary agricultural education programs also give students the opportunity to learn about the agricultural careers available to them if they choose not to work on a farm, said Hasselquist, who grew up on a northwest Wisconsin dairy farm.

For example, her own experience taking agricultural education classes, combined with her 4-H and FFA memberships, convinced her to pursue a career in agricultural education.

Her agricultural education teacher played an important part in that decision by demonstrating the influence that she could have on students someday by being a mentor like he was.

Wald, who enjoys his job and has kept teaching in hopes that finding a replacement for him would become less challenging, has procrastinated on his retirement, first considering it about eight years ago. At the urging of his students, he pushed the date forward.

“They’d say ‘Just wait until I get through,’” he said. His children convinced him to set a retirement date and stick to it. Wald’s teaching career will coincide with the end of the 2022-23 Maddock High �� year.

Wald won't be easy to replace.

“He has a great relationship with the students and all the years and years of experience he brings to the students,” said Ben Allmaras, Maddock High �� principal and superintendent.

Wald is an example of the kind of dedication to his agricultural education career that NDSU seeks to recruit, Marx said.

“There’s hardly anyone who has a better heart to see young people grow and succeed,” he said.

Being a successful agricultural education teacher isn’t only about what and how you teach, but also where, he said.

“Gary Wald is an excellent fit for his high school and community,” Marx said. “I think it’s a lot about where a person finds a fit for their school or community."

“It has been a fantastic community,” Wald said. “Since I’ve been here, they’ve built the community center, they’re built the technical center and they’ve built the event center. It was a good place to raise our seven children.”

Editor's note: This is the first part in a series looking at ag teachers in the region.]]>