Down on the farm

Sidney fourth grade students discovered that life on a farm is far from laid back last week as they took an afternoon field trip to learn about farming and ranching at Narjes Farm.

"They're learning about what we do on a day-to-day basis," Tyson Narjes, president of the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau and owner of Narjes Farm, said.

Narjes said fourth graders from North Elementary School toured the farm in groups on Thursday and Friday.

"We had 40 (on Thursday) and 60 (on Friday)," he said.

Narjes said the tour ties in to the Raider Beef Program, which is a partnership with Sidney Public School District, the Cheyenne County Farm Bureau and local agriculture producers to supply local beef for school lunches a minimum of three times every 10 days.

"Our goal with the Raider Beef Program is to add ag education to the school system," Narjes said. "So we want to incorporate not only in the classroom, but having the kids out and actually see what goes on at the farm and how their food is produced."

Narjes said it is important that the students see firsthand that what they are having for lunch comes from within their own community.

"It's not coming from a big, giant grocery store," he said. "It's coming from the local level."

For many of the students, Narjes said farm visits are a rare occurrence, even in an agriculture-centric state like Nebraska.

"The average person is now three generations away from the farm," he said. "So when you look at a lot of these kids, they don't have that experience of being on a farm or understand what's going on.

"So this is a way we can get them out and about, show them what combines and tractors look like, and see the cows, so that when the go to a grocery store, they can relate that this is happening right here in their own community."

Narjes Farm has about 7,000 acres of farmland, mostly dryland, with more than 200 head of cattle. Narjes said the farm is completely family-owned and operated.

"My parents lived here for the last 25 to 30 years," he said. "My wife and I have lived here for the last three years, and my brother lives right down the road."

While this year was Narjes's first time, he said his parents, Susan and Gary, used to hold the tours on the farm when he was younger.

For the tour, students were split into four groups and moved from station to station learning about different aspects of the farm.

One station, led by Gary and Susan Narjes, along with Tony Walker, covered chemical farming, explaining to students the process and how basic mathematic operations tie into something as seemingly simple as drilling a hole in the dirt.

In another station, Ryan and Laura Narjes took students through the calving barn where they introduced them to a baby calf and explained the different tools and pens utilized in rearing calves.

The third station had students load into a trailer where they were transported to a field where cattle were grazing. Tyson Narjes and his wife, Regina, conducted the tour.

"With the trailer, we're showing them how we transport livestock," Narjes said. "Then we take them out to see the cows, explain their lifecycle and show them how, on our farm, they're raised."

The final station covered animal feed and nutrition, and was manned by Nick Easterly, owner of Sidney Feed and Supply Co., and Josh Deines.

"I'm explaining to the kids what the different types of feed are, and why we need different types for different animals," Easterly said.

Easterly said the students asked a lot of good questions for him during his presentation.

"Hopefully, we have bridged a little bit of the gap between the farm and the town," he said.

Many of the students also had the opportunity to smell and even taste the different animal feeds, which Easterly said was important.

"It shows that the feeds are safe for them to eat, too," he said. "Of course, they don't have to, but they can."

Narjes said he wants to continue doing more farm tours in the future, possibly annually.

"Absolutely," he said. "This has been something that we've been looking forward to doing and continue doing, and it looks like we'll be able to do that."