On any other day, one wouldn’t see a large, green John Deere tractor parked at the intersection of Lafayette and Jefferson Street.
But Thursday wasn’t just any other day.
Leading up to Friday’s “We’ve Got It In The Ag” field trip at Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee, the annual Genesis Express Reading Program had a special visitor — as Ashley Nichols, of Seven Springs Farm in Wallonia, turned her long-developed teaching skills into a presentation about agrarian life.
More than 30 kids were on hand, as Nichols spun out a long web of employees needed — tractor drivers, combine operators, electricians, planters, accountants, welders, mechanics, heavy equipment operators, and even stock brokers — to properly operate a large-scale farming complex.
Nichols also turned a strong analogy from a rusted toy truck. It had been her husband Joey’s prized possession as a kid, and on the side of it said “Nichols Farms.”
“Nichols Farms” doesn’t exist these days, but Seven Springs Farm does — and Nichols said it’s one of her favorite possessions because of the reminder it serves her family each day.
Genesis Express President George Radford, who’s seen the annual reading program grow over the last 30 years, noted the students finished their afternoon shucking corn from their own community garden — in what was a complete circle from the planting process in May, to cultivation and harvest in July.
It was all part of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics push and evaluation — as most of these students weren’t in the classroom last year due to coronavirus concerns.
Earlier this week, Cadiz native Donavan Washer was able to bring his tractor by for a similar visit, and a local fire engine stopped by, too, as part of the education drive.
On Thursday, local athletes Arlon Butts and Riley Brame also had demonstrations. Butts, signed with Rend Lake Community College and currently playing for the Hoptown Hoppers, discussed his push for baseball success, while Brame showcased her hurdles skills, not long removed from her appearance at the Kentucky High School state championships.
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