County third-graders take part in Farm Day at Bolado Park 

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Just under 1,000 third grade students from schools throughout San Benito County gathered at Bolado Park on March 17 for Farm Day, the San Benito County Farm Bureau’s annual celebration of all things agricultural. 

Moving through 40 stations across the grounds, they got the chance to see, and sometimes pet, farm animals and learn about their care, sample locally grown products, get up-close looks at farm equipment and discover how farmers, ranchers and agricultural workers of all kinds contribute to the community. 

Farm Bureau Executive Director Brittany Brown said the annual event, which has been held for over 15 years, drew students from 40 classrooms at 20 schools in the county.  

“The kids are what drives this whole thing,” she said. “But we have a large group of volunteers from all over San Benito County, teaching about everything from growing food on the farms to raising and caring for animals, and everything in between.”

Perhaps the most impressive display for the students initially was at the park entrance, featuring Cal Fire’s heavy machinery. Students got to sit in a fire truck, climb on a bulldozer or have their photo taken with its mascot, Captain Cal.

The man inside that mountain lion suit, Cal Fire Public Information Officer Luis Perez, said that the variety of equipment they bring to events like this one is a favorite with young people. 

“It always draws their attention,” he said, “as we’re trying to tell them fire prevention messages such as stop, drop, and roll. They are interacting with the personnel and are 100% receptive.  

It certainly impressed Leah Notar’s R. O. Harden Elementary class, which visited the trucks as their first stop on the tour.

“They are all very excited,” Notar said. “They can’t wait to get to the animals and see everything else. They are going to get an understanding of what all goes into the farming community, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this sparks something in their futures.”

One of the more interesting stops for the children, according to Hollister Dual Language Academy parent Cuco Chavez, was a sheep-herding demonstration by Marc Stelling’s border collie dogs, Rico and Bear.

“They are really smart dogs,” he said, “and it is cool to see the amount of training they have to be able to take commands. But they also love horses, and they’ve been able to pet the pigs and goats and hold little ducks that are only a day old.”

Stelling said the connection made between the kids and the dogs is obvious and there is always an enthusiastic response to the display.

“They really enjoy seeing the capabilities of the dogs when they’re given an opportunity to do what they were trained and raised to do,” he said. “So, given the opportunity to come out here and share passion with all these kids, it was a no-brainer for me.”

Many of the animals were presented by 4-H volunteers, including Blake Rubo, who pointed out differences among various pig breeds, and Daniela Muenzer, who brought her goat and said she answered questions like “Why does the poop look like that?” and “Do you eventually eat him?”

The answers were, respectively, “Because it’s related to a deer” and “Yes.”

Easton Rodriguez, a Reserve Champion at the 2025 San Benito County Fair, discussed the care that goes into raising a steer and the amount of meat to be gained from a single animal.

“The kids seemed very happy to be here,” he said. “They were very interested, and I think some of them had never petted a cow before. The steer’s hair is so much fluffier than other cows because we clean and wash them once weekly. They really enjoyed that.”

Cianna Muenzer, who displayed her cow, Winnie, explained that household items beyond beef come from cows. 

“The bones, hooves and horns are used in making bandages, toothbrushes, glue sticks, and dice,” she said. “The hair and hide go into Tylenol and gummy bears. And then fats can make gum, deodorant, lipstick, lotion and candles.”

While she said the students were interested in her talk on how beneficial cows are, the questions were a bit more basic.

“They were mainly on what cows eat,” she said. “They ask, ‘What’s its name? ‘How much does it weigh?’ and ‘How old is it?’” 

Still, Hollister Prep School teacher Alyssa Carter said she thought Cianna’s talk was intriguing for the students.

“A lot of our students thought that we only get meat from our cattle,” she said. “So, I think that this was an eye-opening experience for them. I love the agriculture and cattleman lifestyle, and I don’t think enough of our students have been introduced to that.”

Dr. Charlie Tobias provided an in-depth look at what it takes to care for the animals as a veterinarian, particularly highlighting the difference in what is used to treat humans versus animals, including the sizes of pills and, drawing gasps from the students, the much larger needles used for injections.

“You try to come up with things that will get them involved,” he said. “Some of them have animals of their own, and it is a great way to keep educating kids, opening their eyes, and hopefully inspiring a few of them to want to be a veterinarian someday.” 

One of the more interactive stations, which involved evaluating chicken eggs, was mentored by Michelle Borland with Bar SZ Ranch in Paicines. The students eagerly jockeyed for a position near the scale to weigh eggs and determine their sizes.

“They are learning what it means,” she said, “when you go buy eggs from a carton in the grocery store, as well as pieces of chicken meat out of the grocery store.  I have them learning about egg grades, so they understand what that means on the carton at the store.”

Learning about the sources of food, Brown said, is the most important message of the day that the Farm Bureau wanted to teach. She said many students think meat and produce magically appear in grocery stores. 

“When they come out here,” she said, “they actually see the hard work, dedication, and time it takes for people to get that food to their table, which is not as easy as people think. If they could just take away that one thing, that would be perfect.”

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