Spring 2022 Virtual Field Trips

Thirtyclassrooms participated over the course of four sessions in the KPA virtual field trips, additionally sponsored with the Kansas Soybean Commission. These sessions consisted of showing a short introductory video to a pig farm, along with questions asked by the students to our farmers, Michael and Christy Springer of Independence, KS, and Kaden and Emily Roush of Lebanon, KS. These sessions lasted approximately 35 minutes, which gave each classroom a chance to ask a couple of questions.

The purpose of our Virtual Field Trips to a Kansas pig farm are to allow students from 2nd grade, all the way to high school, to be informed of how a pig farm runs and operates, all from the comfort of the classroom. By being able to ask questions in real-time, this allows students to gain curiosity about where their pork comes from and how it is raised. Many of the classrooms that sign-up for the program are in more urban areas of Kansas, so many students have not seen a live pig before or the barns they live in.

After signing up, teachers receive a confirmation email and will have materials they can utilize either before or after the field trip with their students. These materials highlight Kansas pig farming and lets their minds spark more questions they could ask the farmers.

After receiving the post-evaluation, teachers recorded that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and that their students learned a lot more about pigs and how they are raised. They stated that all of the materials sent to them were utilized both at home and in the classroom and that they would all participate again. Some of the words written that came to their minds when they think of farming are “feeding the world”, “necessity”, “family, hard work, and passion”, and most of them discovered some new things about pigs and pork farming.

We look forward to hosting more field trips in the Fall of 2022. If you are a teacher or know of someone who would like to participate in the KPA Virtual Field Trip to a Kansas pig farm experience, please email madisona@kspork.org to get on our list.