National Future Farmer

These scenes show how popular Children's Barnyards can be.
HOW
Well-planned activities can work year-round to
I)etter relations between farm and city people.
ABOUT a
yard for an
children's Barn-
FFA sponsored
Farm-City Week project? Its
good public relations for FFA, and the
kind of thing that helps build better re-
lationship between farm and city people.
Farm-City Week is November 18-
24, but the leaders of this nation-wide
observance point out that activities
should not be limited to that week.
"Let's just say Farm-City Week is
the time we get our ducks in a row and
plan what we're going to do during the
year ahead to foster better relations
between farm and city people," says
Howard McClarren, chairman of the
Farm-City youth committee.
McClarren works with FFA mem-
bers the year around in his regular job
as director of youth activities for the
American Institute of Cooperation. He
thinks Children's Barnyards are a natur-
al for FFA chapters and State Associa-
tions.
"When you do it is not so important,"
he says. "The main thing is to plan
now for an activity sometime during
the year that will give city children a
little better understanding of life on the
farm."
Children's Barnyards are sweeping
the country. The Minnesota FFA As-
sociation sponsored one at their State
Fair as early as 1956. Since then, suc-
cessful exhibits have been put on in
Colorado, Connecticut. Iowa. Massachusetts,
Nebraska, and Oklahoma, to mention
a few. W. J. Kortesmaki. FFA
e.xecutive secretary in Minnesota, says
250,000 people visited their exhibit last
year.
Animals exhibited in the Barnyards
are selected for their appeal to children,
rather than quality or economic importance.
Thus, you'll find such "farm"
animals as a nanny goat with her kids
occupying a pen next to a Collie with a
litter of puppies. Chicks hatching out
in glass-front incubators, or riding
around a miniature ferris wheel to get
feed, are proven attention getters.
Most of the Children's Barnyards
include a cow with baby calf, sow with
little pigs, ewe with lambs, and mare
w ith foal. Ducklings are commonly used
in a poo! of water with a feeding boat
or other gimmick to provide action.
Originally planned as a public rela-
tions "service" type of activity, the
Barnyards have taken on new importance
with the realization that children
are accompanied by parents. At
the Eastern State Exposition, placards
over some exhibits call attention to the
economic importance of the animals and
tell how FFA members raise them in
their farming programs.
At exhibits in other areas, neatly
dressed FFA members are on hand to
answer questions about The Future
Farmers of America.
The Barnyards require planning and
careful attention to details, but are surprisingly
trouble free in operation. The
big jobs in planning are picking the
time and place and selecting livestock
that will have young just before the
show. Usually, the exhibits are sponsored
at the time of a fair, but any
community function that attracts a
crowd will do as well.
Here are few pointers that will make
your Barnyard successful:
Have well-dressed, courteous. FFA
members in attendance at all times.
Careful attention to manners by all
FFA members at the exhibit is a must.
Use docile animals and whenever pos-
sible get them accustomed to their
quarters a day or so before the opening.
Have a clean-up crew on dutv at all
times and keep the pens as clean as
possible, else you'll offend, rather than
please, your city visitors.
Use pens made of pipe and woven
wire, so small children can see through.
If safe, use low fences and permit the
kids to pet the animals. At one show
they take the newly hatched chicks out
of the incubator and put them in a
low box under brooder lights where
children can pick them up. Casualties
are surprisingly low.
Avoid any possible criticism of cruel-
ty to animals. If an animal must be
tied, use a halter and tie comfortabh'.
Promptly remove any injured or sick
animals or birds.
Publicize your exhibit in advance
with news stories, and have a big sign
at the fair.
Finally, jump in and get your feet
wet. Children's Barnyards are here to
stay, and if FFA doesn't reap the public
relations benefit, somebody else will.
There's plenty of new ideas left, too.
At one show they're thinking about adding
an exhibit of crops. How many
kids in New England, or grownups
either, ever saw a cotton plant or a
growing pineapple? The possibilities
are unlimited.
34 The National FUTURE FARMER