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By Jennifer Marrs, June 29, 2005

Last updated: Wednesday, June 29, 2005 11:50 AM EDT

Kids sat on bales of hay Tuesday morning at Strock's Farm in Mechanicsburg and watched as Paul Garret held up an apple representing the world, cut off a small slice and peeled the slice.

The resulting peel represents the amount of farmland left in the world.

The best thing about this camp is that (the kids) get to learn about the farmers and how we need to protect the land and not abuse it, says Garret, an adult volunteer with Penn State Cooperative Extension.

About 45 Cumberland County children ages 8-10 took part in the annual, two-day Agricultural Science Day Camp, which includes hands-on activities designed to give them a better appreciation and understanding of agriculture.

The Extension's 4-H and Youth Development Program sponsors the event and supply volunteers.

We try to target kids that are from the city, said Wendy Griest, 4-H coordinator. We want to give them the idea that food doesn't just come from the grocery store.

Fruity divisions

The children broke off into four rotating groups — blueberries, peaches, apples and cherries — to head out to different parts of the farm.

I want to learn how fast vegetables grow, said Miranda Hanson of Carlisle and York. Her friend Pooja Saha of Mechanicsburg said she would like to know how to stop weeds from growing.

On the farm tour, Kent Strock, son of farm owner Clyde Strock, showed where they dump grain and how the bucket elevator lifts it into an overhead bin, which drops it into a propane dryer.

Once the grain is dry, the bucket elevator lifts it back up to the distributor head and distributes it into bins.

This bin, he said, pointing to the largest one, holds 13,100 bushels.

Holding up containers of corn and milled soy beans, Strock said, To an animal, this is potatoes and steak. The soy beans provide protein, while the corn contains carbohydrates.

The Strocks grind the two together with a shaft that turns 1,754 revolutions per minute to create animal feed.

Kent Strock led the kids over to the barn where he raises 2,600 turkeys. After they hatch, his turkeys grow up to 30 pounds in just 16 weeks.

Strock said he broods about 200 turkeys together at once, using a propane heater to keep them warm.

His presentation was cool, said Jacob Greenisen of Palm Springs.

Harvest wheat

Each group of children rode in a tractor to a wheat field, where they worked in pairs to harvest the wheat with scissors.

I'm going to appreciate how much work it is to make a piece of bread! exclaimed Hayley Murdough of Mechanicsburg.

State Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, who grew up on a family farm in Adams County, was among the volunteers. Using an illustrated poster board, he explained the different kinds of wheat, including hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, durum, hard white wheat and soft white wheat.

One bushel of wheat makes 75 one-pound loaves of bread, Redding said.

Once they had harvested the wheat, the children moved over to a barn to thresh it out. They put the wheat into plastic bags and pounded it with small wooden poles. Then they put the wheat kernels onto trays and blew off the chaff.

Debra Miller of Mechanicsburg smiled as she watched her son, Danny Miller, intently blow the chaff off of his tray and into the wind.

Cool treat

Another group of kids made ice cream with the Cumberland County Dairy Princess Megan Kutz and other county dairy ambassadors. The children used sugar, vanilla, milk, ice and salt to make the ice cream, which was just what they needed in Tuesday's scorching 91-degree heat.

Kutz told the participants facts about cows and encouraged them to eat three servings of dairy products each day.

Campers also learned about different kinds of seeds and their anatomy and examined soil and determined its pH level.

Other activities of the day included wheat weaving, Investigating Insects and Powerful Pesticides.

Chelsea Anderson of Boiling Springs says her favorite part of the program was Soil Secrets. The soil she tested had a pH of 6.6.

Lauren Otto of South Middleton Township said she learned how they use pesticides and how they can hurt your skin or burn your eyes if you are not careful.

Watch for warning, caution and danger labels, she said. Danger is the worst.

Today, the kids were scheduled to make bread from their wheat and also make jam and butter.

They were to tour Walton's Dairy Farm and Thompson's or Stover's calf barns in Carlisle to learn about milking cows and how bees make honey.

FYI

The Agricultural Science Day Camp is scheduled on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of every June and lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The camp is limited to 48 students, so children may attend the camp just once.

Registration begins in the spring and is announced in Cumberland County schools. Parents may also call the Extension office at 240-6500 to sign up their children for next year's camp.

Here's recipe for making ice cream ‘the fun way'

In a pint-size, sealable plastic bag, combine one tablespoon sugar, one half teaspoon vanilla and one half cup milk. Remove excess air and close the bag, making sure it's tight.

In a gallon-size, sealable plastic bag, combine three cups of ice and one third of a cup of salt. Put the small bag into the large one and close the large one securely, removing the excess air.

Turn, shake and roll the bag for about 10 minutes. Then enjoy ice cream right from the small bag.

— Recipe courtesy of the Cumberland County dairy ambassador and the Penn State Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County.