Be Aware of New York Agriculture 2006 Winners
Grade 5
Writing Project: " New York Agriculture "
Maximum length: 500 words
An original titled fact or fictional creative story related to New York agriculture in a positive way.
1st Place - Megan George, Strykersville, NY
“Susan! Did you hear me!?” The white calf Susan looked to her right. “Oh, sorry, Ma. I was just thinking.” Susan sat on the window pane and looked over the horizon. Susan’s Mom shook her head. “I told you to clean your stall,” Susan’s Mom said. Susan sighed and went to her stall. While she was cleaning she thought: “We’ve been so busy. Why does Mom need to go to the parlor two times a day?” After she was done cleaning her stall she raced down the stairs and stood in the kitchen pantry. “Hey, Mom, could I go to the parlor with you so I could find the answer to my questions?” Susan asked. “Um, I guess so,” Susan’s Mom said. Susan was sooo excited! She had never been to the parlor before.
Later that day it was almost time to go. Susan couldn’t wait! “Here we are!” Susan had the biggest smile on her face! She zoomed off like a rocket! Susan looked in the parlor and milk tank to find some answers. “Now I know where the milk is collected,” Susan thought. She was on her way to the milk house when she met a black and white cat with a purple ribbon around her neck. “Well, hello! I’m Violet,” said the cat. “Hi! My name is Susan. I’m looking for an answer to why my Mom is here,” Susan said. “Well, maybe I could help. Your Mom is here because she has to get milked. People use milk for food. Milk has lots of nutrients like Calcium and Vitamins A and D, and six other nutrients. People’s bodies need these vitamins to stay healthy. New York is third in the country for dairy products. New York is also third in the country for hard cheese. And New York is first in the country for cottage cheese. All these things come from milk. Yogurt, butter, and ice cream also come from milk. New York needs milk. Without milk, New York would have no milk and would have to buy it from other states. Dairy is very, very, very, very important to New York. And that is why your Mom gets milked twice a day.” “WOW!!! Thanks you for the information, Violet! I can’t wait to tell my Mom. Thanks again!”
2nd Place - Kassandra Hetherly, Ravena, NY
New York Agriculture: A Dollar & A Dream
I have always dreamed of living on a farm and owning farm animals. One day I was sitting in my room doing homework and all of a sudden my Mom comes running in screaming that we won the Mega Millions Lottery. I was shocked and happy at the same time. Finally my dream would become a reality.
A week later we packed up and moved to the country. We bought a farm with two really big barns; one for horses and the other for cows. It was so exciting. I couldn’t wait to see how it felt to live a farm life.
New York bred horses live in one of my barns. I have a lot of horses to race, jump, and do dressage. One of my other dreams is to raise and train one of my horses to win the Triple Crown, but I know that probably won’t happen. When my friends come over, I teach them to ride. We go on trail rides and camp outs - it’s really fun.
My other barn is where the cows live and we milk them. We make our own cheese, ice cream, and milk. In the summer, we have an ice cream stand and sell ice cream to the locals.
We also have a fruit and vegetable garden. We grow the biggest, reddest apples, berries and lots of vegetables for making salads on my farm. We also have a farm stand where we sell the healthy New York produce we grow to the locals. All the money we make from selling the fruits, vegetables, and ice cream helps pay to keep the farm alive.
This is the greatest life I ever had.
“GOOD MORNING, ALBANY, RISE & SHINE. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY." "BEEP.”
“WHAT!” I screamed as I rolled out of bed. I thought I lived on a farm, but it was only a dream! Maybe I can get my Mom to buy a lottery ticket today and my dream of living on a farm will come true.
3rd Place - Timothy Arleo, Ithaca, NY
New York Agriculture
If you were taught about New York State agriculture, you might have thought “Why do I have to learn about such a boring topic?” It’s not boring! If New York State didn’t have agriculture, it would be in bigger debt; meaning over a 3 to 4 billion dollar difference every year! Think about the 20% of New Yorkers who are employed in agricultural industries. These industries include dairy, livestock, textiles, forestry, aquaculture (which is fishing), and greenhouse production. Restaurants serve New York State agricultural products such as eggs, bread, milk, etc. Grocery stores sell New York agricultural products too.
I’ll bet you didn’t think of textiles as agriculture! Wool is a textile. It’s used to make gloves, hats, scarves, coats, shirts, blankets and many more things. Imagine if no one ever thought of making gloves, hats, and coats out of wool. Winter would be the worst! You would freeze in winter. So even the little things are important!
What about if farmers never milked cows? They get 12,078,000,000 pounds of milk every year from New York dairy cows! Each cow produces 18,639 pounds of milk every year. That’s a lot of milk. The New York dairy industry alone produces about 1.5 to 2 billion dollars every year, which is one half of New York State’s total agriculture industry income! And that’s only from dairy cows.
Don’t even ask about the chickens! No, I’m just kidding.
Also, a lot of the food you eat every day is New York state agriculture. For example, maple syrup, apples, cheese, meat, eggs, wheat products and so on. As you can see, New York State agriculture plays a big role in our lives. So, do you really think that agriculture is boring? I don’t think it’s boring at all!
Honorable Mention - Gennie Chappell, Olean, NY
Why We Need Agriculture in New York State
Why do we need agriculture? If we have farmers they can grow crops. They can grow beans, carrots, corn, and many other foods. They can sell them, have food for themselves, and send some to the stores. Some crops you can give to animals. These are hay, grain, and other food for them. Cows we get dairy products from, pigs we get ham from, and chickens we eat and use their eggs.
Farmers can also teach boys and girls how to live on a farm. Farms are good places to go on field trips or sometimes have a couple kids come over and stay for a few days to see and feel how it is to live on a farm.
I think that if I lived on a farm I would do all these things. I would also help our community if I could. T would try to sell food and then also give some away to people that need money all the time. I also would give money to other farmers who need to buy equipment all the time. I would also give money to schools that need it.
I think it is good to have farmers because if we did not where would we get all these things? When I grow up I think I will be a farmer, because I think it is a good idea and it helps everyone who lives in our community.
Honorable Mention - Rachel Green, Sharon Springs, NY
New York Agriculture
I think New York is a great place to live. Lots of goods have been produced here. Things are produced from meat to clothes. New York has lots of farms to grow food on. New York is busy all year.
Cows and deer are two examples of meat out of many. Cows make lots of things like milk, cheese, butter and beef. Female cows make calves that produce more milk, cheese, and butter (but not all are girl cows). Male cows (bulls) do not produce milk, cheese, or butter, but both male and female cows produce beef. Deer produce venison. You cook with lots of the things meat producers make.
Lots of things can happen to animals when they are growing. First the animal is born. Then the baby animal (cow) gets its milk from the adult cow (female). Next it becomes old enough to drink water and eat other food. Then, the calf gets older and more mature. Finally, the baby calf turns into a nicely grown cow.
There are lots of vegetables grown in New York, There are carrots, corn, broccoli, brussel sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and many more, First, you have to buy some seeds and then dig a hole for them. Next, you plant the seeds in the ground. Then, you need to water the seeds. Next, you wait for the plants to grow. Once the plants have grown you harvest them. Finally, you sell some of your vegetables (all of the hard work paid off). You should eat some of the plants you grew because they are fresh and healthy.
Agriculture is a very important thing. Lots of our food comes from agriculture (for example, eggs, chicken, and turkey). We need agriculture to live. If we didn’t have agriculture then we wouldn’t have much choice of clothing. Agriculture is a great thing to have because it also gives us many, many choices of food to choose from. Some clothing is made from sheep, and llamas. Other fluffy animals can be used for making clothing, for example, rabbits. Agriculture can also be exciting. It can be exciting when your first plant sprouts or you just made your first sweater, wouldn’t you be excited? I know I would be because of all the effort and time I put into it. Agriculture can also be hard work. You would have to water your plants every day, when they are grown you would need to harvest them, and start potting the grown ones (flowers). It takes lots of patience. Agriculture can be fun!
I love New York. I live on an herb farm. I like it. My mom spent something like three and one half hours in the field watering the plants in a day.. My mom was a busy beaver in the pring and sunnier.
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