'Day at the Farm' deemed a success
'A Day on the Farm' attracted hundreds of people, despite the 100 degree temperatures, to the Maynard Knepp and Carol Duerksen farm again last Saturday. Children of all ages from Salina to Wichita showed up with their parents or grandparents to get an experience that they seldom get anywhere else.
Horseback riding is probably the most popular event at the farm, even though the large adult horses are led and each ride lasts about two minutes.
Holding one-week-old chicks, watching a sow give birth to piglets, petting small calves and donkeys, milking goats, roping, and eating a meal outdoors among the sights and smells of the farm are events that bring 450 to 500 people to this annual event.
The event is sponsored by Mennonite Agri-Urban, a non-profit organization that benefits two Mennonite conferences and Bethel College, all headquartered in North Newton.
Rides given with a horse, a team of mules and an antique tractor are part of the day's events. Children could crawl through a bale maze and sign up for ropes that are made on the farm the old fashioned way. Four ministers of conference churches participated in a pig catching contest.
A total of $3,100 in donations was received, but costs for food and supplies had not been subtracted from the gross proceeds. Organizers were impressed with the atmosphere that accompanied the crowd as they gathered on the farm northeast of Goessel.
