The Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom traveled to eastern Oklahoma for this year’s On the Road tour, June 14-16.
On the tour, Oklahoma Farm Bureau joined teachers from around the state to learn more about agriculture and its impact in Oklahoma.
The tour began with a stop at Dismukes’ Cattle Ranch in Checotah, where educators learned about the health benefits of eating beef. The group then traveled to the Greenleaf Nursery in Park Hill to tour their greenhouses. Educators learned the nursery covers 570 acres of land. The next stop included Mountain View Meats in Stillwell, which makes more than 11 million sausage/hotlinks each year. Educators learned about the sausage production process and toured the facilities. The tour continued to Spring Valley Dairy in Stilwell where teachers learned about feeding cattle and the milking process. The last stop of the day was to Maple Creek Berry Farm in Poteau where they picked blueberries and learned about Oklahoma’s specialty crops.
The first two stops on the second day of the tour included Hal’s Beef Jerk in Poteau, Don Sebo’s Cattle Ranch and Sod Farm in Keota. Next, the group toured Spiro Mounds Museum while learning about Oklahoma history, followed by a stop at Wild Things Farm in Pocola to learn about specialty crops.
The final day of the tour continued at Cal2Homa Christmas Tree Farm in Gore where they trimmed a Christmas tree, which is an Oklahoma specialty crop. Next, they traveled to AgriTech, Inc. at Webbers Falls to learn about aerial spraying and the Oklahoma Mesonet. Then, teachers learned about agricultural GPS systems for soybeans and corn at Sloan Farms. The final stop on the tour was a mock cattle sale at the Holdenville Sale Barn.