TURLOCK FARM UPDATE

from Ag Harvest 2022

ADDING CHICKENS

BY CHRISTOPHER CORREA

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Turlock Unified School District Farm officially opened to serve local students. As the harvest season has come to an end, there is plenty of excitement as it heads to another year.

Some of the crops that are grown at the farm are peaches, almonds, walnuts, plums, broccoli, carrots and more. The produce from the farm is sent to TUSD school sites to be served as part of daily school lunches.

Hali Bream is the coordinator of the TUSD Farm and explained how the farm’s production.

“Now that students are fully back in school, we send all our food out through Child Nutrition so kids can eat them at lunchtime. This year, we sent the schools over 4,000 pounds of fruit,” Bream said.

Throughout the year, elementary students are invited to the farm to plant fruits and vegetables. Students and their classes tend to return later in the year to be the first ones to try out the produce, which is maintained by members of local FFA clubs.

“They love to come here because there are so many different ag experiences in on place… The kids always have such a fun time being around the animals and being able to get involved in the farming we do,” Bream said. “They always seem to look forward to it.”

FFA has used the farm since its establishment in 2013, as it is a place where their animals like cows and pigs, and other yearly SAE projects are housed. In the coming weeks, new panels will be in installed around the pastures so that new animals can welcomed.

“We’re putting up the panels right now and it should be done within a week or two,” Bream said. “We want our ag students to be able to come and bring their own sheep and goats. The students will be bringing in their cows and steers in the next couple weeks and the pigs will come over after that.”

This year, Bream also noticed an increase in students taking advantage of the farm’s planter boxes, which allows individuals to grow whatever they choose to.

“It’s really student focused,” Bream said. “They get to learn about agriculture and really try out all the aspects of ag and see what they like best… It’s a true learning experience.”