A Student Field Trip to Weise Farms

It was a great day for us at Weise Farms and we are thrilled that Mrs. Hernandez wrote our blog post for today.

"On Monday, April 10th, students from Mrs. Hernandez’s Family and Consumer Sciences class Lifetime Nutrition Wellness visited Weise Farms in Serbin. Weise Farms is owned and operated by Tim and Becky Weise. Their mission is to bring healthy and delicious locally-grown foods from their farm to our tables. This was exactly the message Mrs. Hernandez is trying to convey to her students - you are what you eat, so make good choices. While visiting the farm the students learned about wagyu beef and the processes it goes to from farm to butcher to plate. They learned about lamb and even got to witness some tail-banding on a new baby. A favorite of the day was probably Ronnie, the Anatolian Shepherd, their livestock guardian dog. The students were already familiar with Ronnie from reading the Weise Farms blog in class. The students worked with chickens and ducks collecting eggs, incubating some and even learned about how the Weise processed chicken meat. They learned about canning and freeze drying to preserve food and the importance of heirloom gardening. The Weise’s, along with the help of some student volunteers, prepared wagyu hamburgers for lunch. The day was filled with hands-on experience with the vegetables, animals, and eggs and all things farm-life and farm-to-table. Mrs. Hernandez and the Weise’s hope to continue this field trip for future classes. They believe it’s important for our students to know they can buy locally grown real food from the farmer just down the road."

Tim and I would like to compliment Mrs. Hernandez, the students and the parents of these students. They were so polite and grateful. They were eager to learn. They wanted to help. And they did a great job. They asked a lot of questions, and that is a great compliment. You should all be very proud of them.

It was a pleasure to host a group of students for a work day at Weise Farms.

This ewe lamb was just two days old. The students took turns holding her after her tail was banded.

You can't see the steers behind the students, but they were right there waiting for the next handful of grass. The students enjoyed feeding them, and the steers loved eating out of their hands. Happy animals grow into delicious food. Knowing where your food comes from is very important.

Ronnie had a great day because everyone showered him with oodles of attention. He may be a fierce livestock guardian dog, but he is also sweet and very social! Everyone knew Ronnie from the blog post about momma duck and the sheep. It means a lot to us that the students read our blog.

Our miracle ducklings graduated to a large outdoor pen where they can grow up safely until they are ready to be released with all of the other ducks. Ducklings are soft and squishy, and they grow very fast.

They got their hands dirty, pulling grass and placing weed cloth and mulch around the blackberry bushes. Mulching will help retain moisture while keeping unwanted grass from stealing nutrients from the soil.

We learned about Hugelkultur, pronounced hoo-gul-culture, is a gardening technique that originated in Germany. The word means “hill culture.”

• Hugelkultur, pronounced hoo-gul-culture, is a gardening technique that originated in Germany. The word means “hill culture.”

• The gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants.

• The logs and branches act like a sponge. Rainwater is stored and then released during drier times.

• The rotting wood hosts beneficial fungi, bacteria, insects, worms, and microbial growth that create nutrients your plants can use.

• Over time the mound will shrink as the wood rots but you can always add more soil or compost to the top. You will have created an ecosystem in which the beneficial organisms will thrive.

We talked about preserving the food food we grow for times of the year when the garden is not producing. We do this by canning, freezing, freeze drying, fermenting and pickling.

Thank you again to everyone who took part in this wonderful day. We also want to shout out to Curtis Krause, the bus driver! Thank you for bringing them to visit Weise Farms!!!

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