Pictured are back row left to right: Luke Ward, Andie Adams, Chase Ward, Lydia Dibert; middle row: Leni Rader, Amera Rader, Gemma Jacobs, Ally Harris, Lucy Rodgers, Sadie Sponheim, Lincoln Jacobs, Piper Jacobs, Hattie Uhl, Ellie Rader; front row: Cheyenne Harris, Sylvia Rader, Ellie Rodgers, Sydney Sponheim, Andi Rodgers.
Submitted photo
Visiting The Farm
The Flying Barnyard 4-H Club visited Michael’s Potato Farm for one of our meetings. We had a small part of our business meeting, and then Kathy Sponheim taught us about potatoes. The first thing we did was talk about the different types of potatoes. Then we went into the potato storage room where there were big boxes stacked almost all the way up to the ceiling. The boxes are called jumbo boxes and they hold 2,000 pounds of potatoes. Wow! We have never seen so many potatoes before! For their farm, there are two of the huge potato storage rooms. Both rooms together hold 5 million pounds of potatoes.
All About Potatoes
Did you know potatoes are grown underground? There are many different types of potatoes. There are russet potatoes and you use them to make french fries. Red, white, and yellow potatoes are used for potato salad and roasted potatoes. There is also a potato that is called a chef’s potato and it is really big in size. The sizes of potatoes are called A, B, and C. Potatoes have flowers when they grow, the colors are usually white, pink, or purple. Potatoes are stored in cool dark humid rooms with a temperature of about 40 to 42 degrees.
Our Service
To serve our community, The Flying Barnyard 4-H Club packed and boxed approximately 1,150 pounds of potatoes that went to the WhereHouse in Champaign County. As a team, we made boxes, then we bagged the potatoes for the boxes. The potatoes were in a big crate that all of us could be around together. We were all so happy to serve our community!
Submitted by
Lucy Rodgers, News Reporter
