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McNinch Primary Hosts Agriculture Trailer

The West Virginia Farm Bureau’s Mobile Agricultural Education Science Lab is making its stop at McNinch Primary School this week.

Each elementary school in Marshall County has been visited by the West Virginia Farm Bureau’s Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab during the past six years. The visits have been funded by a man who wanted to bring relevant agricultural education to the students.

McNinch is the final elementary school to host the program. The Ag Lab provides students with interactive lessons on agriculture. Monday afternoon, McNinch Primary School students were learning about the contents of a pizza, and how cows provide for those ingredients.

Older students instead made glue from milk and performed experiments to test the strength of the glue against store-bought. The milk glue won out.

“The students and teachers absolutely love it,” said project coordinator Michelle Bailey. “Come Friday, they’re like, ‘No! Don’t leave! Stay another week!’ Teachers, from our evaluations, … say, ‘We’d love to have us back.’ It’s a great program.”

Retired farmer Fred Hazlett has covered the $1,800-$2,000 cost to bring the trailer to a Marshall County school for four or five days at a time. He said he wants to see agriculture continue in schools, as it has through his family for generations.

“It’s an idea I came up with several years ago,” he said. “I have grandchildren, and my youngest grandchild is a senior at John Marshall (High School). My grandfather came here in 1780.”

“He’s awesome,” added Bailey.

Hazlett was perched on a seat in the lab, observing students participate in their various activities.

A pamphlet provided by the Ag Lab says the average American farmer is 57 years old, and that most students are at least three generations removed from a farming lifestyle.

Bailey said the Ag Lab has been totally booked since September. It has traveled to a new school in West Virginia each week and has already been booked through next year and somewhat into 2021.

“Usually we get 36 schools in a year,” she said.

Bailey said the farm bureau has ordered a new trailer and it will be in place next year. The current one, which has operated for the past 10 years, is a modified horse trailer that has taken some wear and tear.

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