Ag In The Classroom Learns About Combines

It was a beautiful, sunny morning at the Oskaloosa Elementary School for 150 third graders to see the combine that area farmer Jerry DeBruin with DBGL Inc. brought to the school.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning at the Oskaloosa Elementary School for 150 third graders to see the combine that area farmer Jerry DeBruin with DBGL Inc. brought to the school. Mahaska County Ag in the Classroom Coordinator Karen Adams, Mahaska County Outreach Coordinator Jill DeBruin and Farm Bureau board member, Mary Beth Jackson helped bring this real-world connection into the classroom for this field trip in the parking lot.

The students rotated to three “stations” around the combine. Mary Beth talked to them about corn, and they were able to be the “combine.” as they took a few kernels off an ear of corn, Jerry and Jill supervised them as they climbed up the back of the combine to see the tank from the top. Karen had two students climb into the cab at a time, where they talked about technology in farming as they pretended to be the farmer driving the combine.

The students learned about Iowa’s two main crops: corn and soybeans. They observed a corn and a soybean plant and learned about products that come from each one, including the biodiesel that fuels the combine. Jerry explained how the combine works.

Farm safety was a major discussion. They were reminded always to ask the farmer to touch or be near any equipment. The students learned the proper way to climb into the combine and how to climb down.

We are thankful that the fields needed the morning sun to dry the soybeans so that Jerry could spend that time with these students. Thank you to Jerry for spending the morning with Ag in the classroom and for the teachers to see the importance of bringing agriculture into their classrooms!