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Darke County farmer Jeff Wuebker opened his pig farm up to members of the Springfield Rotary Club during a recent meeting for a live Virtual Field Trip and Q&A session. The Virtual Field Trip, hosted by the Ohio Pork Council (OPC), is part of Springfield-based Shiftology Communication’s Virtual Farm Trips program.
OPC began hosting Virtual Field Trips in 2014 with the mission to transparently educate students about modern animal agriculture. Through the Virtual Farm Trips program, OPC has hosted Virtual Field Trips for hundreds of classrooms and organizations — including the Springfield Rotary Club.
“Through our Virtual Field Trip program, our farmers enjoy sharing the story of Ohio agriculture with large groups of consumers — whether they’re students or members of an organization,” said Ohio Pork Council President Dave Shoup. “It was an honor to showcase our Virtual Field Trip program to the Springfield Rotary Club during their weekly meeting.”
During the meeting, the Rotarians received a behind-the-scenes look at Wuebker’s modern pig barn. Although Clark County is known as the birthplace of 4-H, many community members are far-removed from agriculture, noted Springfield Rotary Club President Jenny Miller.
“Many of our members are from Springfield, and even though 4-H was born here and is alive and well, many of them have either lost touch or understanding of how food comes to them,” Miller said.
During the Virtual Field Trip, the Rotarians were truly able to experience the daily life of a pig farmer — gaining insights on raising pigs, farm technology, nutrition, genetics and more.
“It was great to see the farm, technology, and the growth and advancement that they’ve made in farming over the last 20 years — it’s phenomenal. I think our Rotarians found that to be quite interesting and took away some good points,” said Miller of Monday’s Virtual Field Trip.
For more information about the Ohio Pork Council’s Virtual Field Trip program, visit https://ohiopork.org/virtual-field-trips/, or call the Ohio Pork Council office at 614-882-5887.
