<b>By TIM THORNBERRY<br>
Kentucky Correspondent</b> </p><p>

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Farmers know that many lessons can be learned on the farm. Third grade students at Collins Lane Elementary got a close look of that theory during a field trip that brought lessons in economics and agriculture together.</p><p>
More than 100 children, along with teachers and parents made their way to Evans Orchard and Cider Mill in nearby Georgetown to see first hand how a crop makes it from the field to the retail shelf - and how that fits into the economy, something they are studying in school. The orchard grows a variety of fruits and vegetables and has a cider mill, commercial kitchen and a retail store.</p><p>
“When I started teaching I didn’t have the first idea how to approach economics with kids,” said Stephanie Elliot, a third grade teacher at Collins Lane. “Fortunately the Council on Economic Education and the Department of Agriculture offer many opportunities for teachers to develop themselves professionally in this area. Last year I happened upon an excellent training offered by the Department of Agriculture on a resource called Project Food, Land, and People.</p><p>
“One of the presenters said something that struck a chord with me - most kids don’t know where their food comes from. Coming from a rural community, I couldn’t imagine children not knowing that food comes from farms and not their local Wal-Mart or Kroger. As I began using the lessons and activities in the program though, I realized, in addition to that, many students had no concept of how raw materials are used to produce the products they buy in stores. Field trips like this one give students a glimpse of that process and help make economic education more meaningful and accessible.”
Despite less than perfect weather conditions, the students enjoyed a wagon ride around the orchard to see where crops are planted complete with an irrigation system and a few leftover pumpkins.
From there they made their way into the Evans’ store facility to see all the items that can be created from products on the farm, in this case apples.</p><p>
Kevan Evans, farm owner, explained to the children, as they surrounded him, how bees are used to pollinate the crops and how their apples are turned into cider and other products sold at their market. He also told them about day-to -day operations of running an orchard.</p><p>
“We have about 6,000 students here each year, and I never gave it too much thought before, but now many of the kids are getting more and more removed from the farm,” he said.</p><p>
“They are in wonderment as to how this all works, and you realize then a lot of them haven’t been on a farm. </p><p>
That’s more rewarding to me, to teach them and let them see what’s going on here. </p><p>
I think at this age, that once they see the farm, they’ll retain that and make better decisions as adults - and that’s my goal. We really advocate having the benefit of a local food system.”</p><p>
Jenny Evans serves as the manager of the farm and echoed her father’s views on teaching students about local food sources as well as the farm’s economics.</p><p>
“The tours are a great way to reach school age kids because a lot of them have never been to a farm,” she said. “We educate them about how apples and pumpkins are grown and used here on the farm.”</p><p>
She also said that more teachers are using the orchard tours as an extension of the classroom.</p><p>
“We’re starting to see that this is a different way to teach economics considering that sometimes, when you think of business you don’t think of the farm, but it’s a good example for teachers,” said Evans. “For me it’s easier to see that a bushel of apples equals this much money and here’s what you can do with it and what you can turn it into. We’re getting more and more requests for tours like this.”</p><p>
For more information about tours at Evans Orchard, visit their website at www.evansorchard.com