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Thursday, October 24, 2013 – Daily News 5A Farm Day a huge success at Tehama District Fairground The 18th Annual Tehama County Farm Day was a huge success with 475 fourth-graders from several of Tehama County's schools gathering at the Tehama District Fairground on Oct. 15. "It's just a great day and a good way to teach the kids about where their food and fiber comes from," Tehama County Farm Bureau Manager Kari Dodd said. "It's not just the grocery store." The annual event is sponsored by the Tehama County Farm Bureau, Northern California Farm Credit and Red Bluff Kiwanis, who provided lunch for the presenters, group leaders and other volunteers. "We're happy to have you here," Tehama County Farm Bureau Second Vice President Shelley Macdonald said. " We've had a few schools who have returned this year and we're excited about that. For those who have been before, we have a few new presentations." Kim Youman with the California Dairy Council brought the Mobile Dairy Classroom along with a pregnant cow who was on her first outing. Youman talked about all the products that come from cows and what actually constitutes a dairy product and talked about similarities with humans, comparing a cow's hoof to a human fingernail. Walking through the description of the cow's body, students learned that cows have 13 ribs on each side of their body and that while the cow has only one stomach, just like humans, it differentiates in that it has four chambers inside the stomach. A cow will eat its hay, digest it a bit before it is regurgitated and chewed again, hence the term about a cow chewing the cud, she said. Students learned the different names for cattle including bull for a male, cow for a female and calf for a baby. An interesting fact about calves is that they are born with all of their fur and start walking at about an hour old, Youman said. New this year, and one of the younger presenters, was Berrendos Middle School Sixth Grader Taylor Arrowsmith who stepped up to give a presentation on bees. Audra Brown, a Bowman 4-H member, gave a presentation with assistance from Macdonald on sheep. Brown talked students through the process of taking care of a newborn lamb from drying off its head and cleaning the mucus of its nose and mouth to what to do with the umbilical cord. Lambs are born with tails, but those are docked, or cut shorter, to help with keeping them clean and safe from infections and diseases. She also spoke to the ear tag, which helps identify which ewes, or mother lambs, belong with which babies. Macdonald talked about the bi-products and that lambs are more than meat and wool, with parts of them used for crayons, glue, baseballs and basketballs and in hair conditioners. Farm Bureau Member Tyler Christensen talked about the types of crops in Tehama County and some of the jobs along the way when food goes from field to table. "The three main crops in Tehama County are prunes, almonds and walnuts," Christensen said. "I want you to think about all the jobs involved in agriculture to get the products on your table. You might find something interesting and I encourage you to check it out." For example, the latest thing is putting things in individual sized bags and someone had to design that bag, which might be a job for someone interested in art, he said. Walnuts have other things to be used for aside from food. The shell of a walnut can be ground down Courtesy photo and used for kitty litter, to heat a house and in makeup to name a few things, Christensen said. Prunes dried and made into plums are sometimes used to feed cattle. Christensen also talked about pest control and watering, both of which are much more scientific than when his grandparents were farming, he said. The ever-popular presentation by Stacy and Bailey Miller on their stock dogs included puppies that were eight weeks old up to an 11-year-old border collie. Stacy Miller showed the methods for training and process for selecting which dogs to train for stock handling. The youngest puppies are allowed to get close to a pen of sheep or sometimes to run near them to see if they have any interest in herding, Miller said. With seven-month old Pete, Miller allowed him to circle the sheep and get a feel for herding while keeping a stick between him and the sheep to keep him from getting hurt. Sage, an 11-year-old dog, showed off the ability to use commands and the way a dog has natural instinct for knowing what to do. The Shasta College petting zoo was also available for students during their break to give students a chance to "pet and get familiar with farm animals", Macdonald said. Sierra Pacific's Julie Kelley presented on trees using the game who wants to be a tree-lionaire to teach facts like the size of the ring tells the trees age and how many board feet are in a house. The average home takes about 17,000 board feet, which is equal to three logging trucks full, she said. Los Molinos resident Mike Brewer talked about roping and a little on what it was like to compete on the rodeo circuit. "I've been fortunate enough to compete at some of the biggest rodeos, including the one right here in April," Brewer said, speaking of the Red Bluff Round-Up. "I've done about 50 a year since I was eighteen and been roping since I was about eight." Brewer talked about how the sport of roping, of which he is a team roper, started back in the 1800s when people had to rope a calf to doctor it by giving it a shot when it was sick. Brewer is in the senior roping division and is sitting in first with two weeks to go before the finals, he said. Kristine Raimer, a local 4-H goat leader, presented using her Nigerian Dwarf named Lovey and a boer goat named Polly to talk about the difference between meat, dairy and fiber goats. There are about 450 million goats worldwide with about 210 different breeds and most will live about eight to 12 years, she said. Goats are very curious, social animals who love people, don't like to get wet, can jump up to five feet in the air and don't have top teeth, Raimer said. While they eat hay, they prefer star thistle, berry vines and poison oak, she said. About 65% of the meat consumed around the world is goat meat, Raimer said. When it comes to fiber, a large number comes from Angora and Cashmere goats who on average grow about 10-16 pounds of fiber a year, she said. A presentation was also put on by the 2013 Tehama County Beef Ambassadors Taylor Collins and Danielle Mueller. "This event is really educational for the kids," Lincoln Street School parent Niki Doll said. "They learned a lot about what opportunities there were in the community and it was hands on. Books can only say so much, but when they get to meet them it makes a difference." He really enjoyed that several of the presenters were about the same age as his students, Lincoln Street Teacher Aaron Peterson said. "They really listen when it's someone their age presenting," Doll said. Cal Fire wears pink during Cares Enough to Wear Pink campaign Like millions of Americans, firefighters and their families are affected by cancer every year. For the next week, Cal Fire is joining fire and police departments across the nation to show their support for the battle against cancer by wearing special Cal Fire shirts with pink ribbons on them. Raising awareness and money for cancer research, Cal Fire's 2013 "Cares Enough to Wear Pink" campaign runs Oct. 20-26 and is part of October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when wearing pink signifies support for breast cancer research. "For the past several years Cal Fire firefighters have proudly helped raise awareness for such an the department have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to this worthwhile effort by volun- tarily joining in on the "Cares Enough to Wear Pink" campaign. Cal Fire is proud to help raise funds to Amazing Finds All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Members Welcome 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ starting at important cause," said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director. "The shirts we are wearing are just a small sign of support for an important battle." Proceeds from the Tshirt sales generated by Cal Fire employee's voluntary participation are donated to cancer research related nonprofit organizations. Cal Fire is one of the largest fire departments in the nation and the over 7,000 men and women of COWDOG RODEAR COMPETITION Nine Handlers - Nine Dogs - One Amazing Event! "Showcasing the brilliance of the cowdog and the compassion of the cattleman for his dog, his horse and the livestock they handle." October 26, 2013 • 10AM Tehama District Fairgrounds FREE ADMISSION This will be a fundraising event, featuring a Calcutta auction to benefit the Back to School Project of Tehama County. All proceeds will send local disadvantaged school-age children on a shopping trip to purchase new clothing, shoes and backpacks For more info. check out our website: Presented by Crystal Rose Cowdog College in association with Rodear America and the Back to School Project www.backtoschoolproject.com For sponsorship opportunities, call 530-529-4074 95 $ 25 + 825 certificate (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. NEW & USED FURNITURE & MUCH, MUCH MORE! Hurry in for the Fall Haul Sale Two Locations - 30,000 square feet RED BLUFF 530-917-1138 REDDING 530-917-7797 22660 Antelope Blvd. 3351 S. Market St. amazingfindsredbluff.com amazingfindshome.com 9am – 8pm (closed Saturdays) 9am – 6:30pm daily find a cure and send a strong message of hope to those suffering from this disease. A Mane Attraction Salon has moved to 731 Main St. Suite 1A (behind the Tremont Cafe) Join us for our Grand Opening Oct. 31st • 10-4 Raffel Prizes • Refreshments 10% Off Services for month of Oct. only 530-527-0550