FFA Rocks with First-Ever Farm Day

(Hamilton, NY) I got an email inviting me to Hamilton Central School to experience Farm Days. It fell on the hottest day of the week, with a gorgeous drive to the school. I pull up to white tents, squawking critters in pens and plenty of kids spilling out over the grounds.

Cool!

It’s way more than I expected. Incredibly well thought-out, organized and running smoothly – not easy when dealing with animals, kindergarten through 12th-grade students and short attention spans on a hot day at the end of a school year.

I was there to meet Johanna Bossard, the Hamilton agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. She wasn’t hard to spot, running between exhibits checking on staff and participants. I snagged her briefly to ask who did all this … how did it happen? How long have you been doing this?

She answered between runs: the FFA students did it all, they had the idea, found the sponsors and set up; it was all them.

Wow.

“Oh, and it’s our first year at it,” she said.

WHAT? She ran to help some teachers corral children while I sat camera in hand, mouth hanging open. First year? Kids did this? Amazing.

I have attended hundreds of events; this was one of the best. They had a ton of learning stations with baby animals, written information and a handler with each animal to ensure child and animal safety.

They had a pedal tractor pull, maple jug ball toss, wagon rides, a sandbox full of corn and Tonka toys, sanitation stations, a fiber artist demonstrating spinning, everything!

Animals were well cared-for with food and water, treated gently even when under siege by tiny hands wanting to pet and investigate. I was struck by how well-spoken and -mannered the FFA students were both with small children and the adults.

I’m telling you: the heat was brutal, but there was no whining, complaining or short-temperedness to be heard.

Hardworking? These young people never stopped moving, helping one another, volunteering in a minute if anyone needed help. This was after spending more than six hours the night before setting up and three more hours that morning!

I know rural folks aren’t surprised, but to a city slicker it’s a big deal. City kids whine getting out of the car to run into the store for milk; it’s an act of God for them to clean their rooms.

Sacrifice Xbox time coordinating an event educating small children and the community about the joys of farming, getting sponsors and working the event? No Way! Not all city kids are like this, but look on Facebook, and you’ll get the idea.

Having Fun with a Pedal Tractor - Toy Tractors

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A pedal tractor is a great toy for young kids and can even be an interesting collectible for adults. I had a few while growing up and since then I have put together a collection that includes several varieties of many colors and shapes. There are some made by major companies and more exclusive types fashioned by local wood workers. Count yourself a lucky person if such a worker resides near your city. It will make it much easier to customize and design yourself a pedal tractor for whatever purpose you choose. Most would buy one for their kids, however for collectors it is also a hot item. If you are truly serious about getting the best quality then you have a handful of options. You could get one built mainly of wood, but there are also many kinds that include significant metal work. Either type is good and I would suggest having some of both. Farm toys are loads of fun, so feel free to go crazy. I will give you here some information on putting together a good set. I hope this helps you make the right choices.

The wooden tractors or other farm equipment toys tend to look very pretty. If the designer and builder took the appropriate steps then it should have correct protective treatment. This means that not only will it look fantastic, but it will be protected from the elements. Of course, these should not be kept outside, but there are things such as humidity which can ruin all types of collectible items. This goes for those kept inside the home as well. One thing that is often not considered is the need for maintaining such items. Even toys need to be taken care of. If you have a lot of wood then they need to be wiped down and even oiled in some cases. Metal toys have a specific risk involved with rust. This can ruin a nice toy tractor set. Avoid this if possible. Make sure you inspect and care for your pedal tractor pieces on a regular basis.

For the most part, toy tractors are good fun. I would suggest keeping many different types. If you have kids that visit you on a regular basis then make absolutely sure to have some that they can play around. These should be set apart from your main set of pedal tractor toys. This way, if they brake them it will not be as big of a deal. Little kids have a very hard time keeping their hands off of shiny objects. Bless their hearts, they just cannot help it. So take some extra steps to make sure that your valuable collectibles are not within reach. Display cases and designated areas are the best ideas. This will make sure that others know not to touch. They should know not to jump on or play with them. However, as I said this will not be a huge problem if you have versions of different farm toys for them to interact with. Just as we have warm memories of playing with our tractor toys as little children, it is important that we create a similar experience for today’s kids as well. This will keep a great toy and a great hobby alive and well into the next century.

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