Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal Lesly Canas, 8, pets Josie the donkey during the 10th annual Capital City Farm Days at the Carson City Fairgrounds Thursday. More than 1, 500 students participated in the event, which continues today. Below, Fremont Elementary School kindergartners Brenda Ortiz-Soto and Fernando Rivas, both 6, pet a chicken.
Fremont kindergarten students got a first-hand lesson Thursday in where their food and clothing originates.
The students were among the more than 1,500 who took part in the first day of the 10th annual Capital City Farm Days at the Carson City Fairgrounds.
"We are trying to make sure these kids know what ranching and agriculture are and the history of that in Nevada," said Sandy Wallin, 4-H and Youth Programs instructor for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
The students learned how vegetables grow, how to spin wool, quilting, healthy eating habits and canning, and how the American Indians survived without agriculture.
Yet the biggest draws were the furry and fuzzy lessons waiting outdoors.
"My favorite was the bunnies because they bounce really high," said Jocelyn Hurtado, 6.
The children had the opportunity to see llamas, alpacas, chickens, cattle, rabbits, a horse and a donkey.
"I like the donkey," said Fernando Rivas, 6. "He's cute, but not as cute as the chickens."
Walker Simeroth, 6, said he learned a lot about the cattle.
"They are black and white and really big, like 24 pounds, and they don't bite unless you scare them or make them mad," Simeroth said.
The largest group seemed to be gathered around the pen containing Josie the donkey and her handler, Lora Wass.
"The kids ask her name and mostly the little kids just want to pet her," Wass said.
Over in front of the dairy cows, the children were learning about how much cows eat and how much milk they produce.
"The cows give us lots of milk, and they don't have horns because they cut them off," said Jamie Wells, 7, a Sutro Elementary School first-grader.
The children were told that dairy cattle eat 70 pounds of food a day and produce between six and 15 gallons of milk.
The event continues from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. today and is open to preschool through fifth-grade classes from Northern Nevada. More than 3,000 children are expected to take part in the two-day event.
Each of the children was given a carton of milk to take with them after participating the event.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.