by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
FORESTERS FALLS — Kindergarten and some Grade 1 students from two Renfrew County schools learned a variety of information regarding a dairy farm last Wednesday.
Students from Valour School in Petawawa and Central Public School in Renfrew, had a tour of Monique and Willem Van Lindenberg’s dairy farm on the Queens Line near Foresters Falls.
This is not the first time the Van Lindenbergs have hosted students. Mr. Van Lindenberg had students come out to the farm about two years ago and they loved it. When he was asked to host another school tour, he didn’t hesitate to say yes.
While one group of students had a tour of the various barns and facilities at the farm, another group of students settled on the grass and listened to Angela Field, a dairy educator with the Renfrew County Dairy Farmers.
Ms. Field said she travels to different schools and events to give talks about basic dairy farms. She said it’s unfortunate, but not many teachers take advantage of the free service. Ms. Field believes there is incorrect information being presented in various media forms that is causing controversy regarding farming practices, people shy away from educating themselves on what really happens on farms.
Ms. Field believes it’s important children are provided with an opportunity to learn where milk comes from. She talks about the basic operation of a dairy farm; shows them some of the tools used and why milk is so important.
While Renfrew County may have a large farming community, there are less than 70 dairy farms, she noted.
Madame Genoe from Valour School said a teacher told her about going to the Van Lindenberg farm before, so she decided to take her students to the farm.
When the students were asked what they saw on the farm or liked about the farm, the shouting started, “You can pet them (the cows)”; “I liked feeding the baby”; “she was sick so had surgery”; “it stinks” one shouted about the manure pit.
Mr. Van Lindenberg noted the students were at the farm from 10 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. They visited the main barn where the milking cows live, eat and milk, there is a robot that pushes the feed in to the cattle, the students were able to pet the cattle, they saw the cows walk into the milking area and get milked, as well as the milk in the jar that is coming from the cow; the office, from which all the cows in the main barn can be seen, as well as the computer, which keeps the family informed of what every cow does; saw the manure pit; visited the calf barn and experienced bottle feeding calves; saw the bunker silos where the cattle feed is stored; pushed hay in for the larger calves and gave them protein pellets; and checked out the cattle in the heifer barn.
Mr. Van Lindenberg said to ensure the students remained as safe as possible while touring the farm, along with he and his wife, his parents Catrina and Koos and family friend Ted Prins were there to provide tours and watch the children, along with the teachers and parents who travelled with the students.
While talking with his group of students, he said they were surprised at how friendly the cows were and how quickly a calf can drink milk from a bottle.
It’s important children learn where their food comes from, that it’s not just going to a store and taking it off the shelf. They saw how a cow walks into the robot milker when she feels it’s time to give her milk; how the mechanical arm connects the milking cups to the teats; and how the milk flows from the teats through tubing into a jar and then into the large cooling tank where it is picked up by a tanker truck.
They also saw the corn that is fed to the cattle, as opposed to it standing tall and green in the fields, he said.
Mr. Van Lindenberg said the visit is tailored to the age of the students who are visiting the farm and even to the curriculum that is being taught in the classroom.
He received an email from the students telling him how much they enjoyed the visit.
