The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo brings Texas' agricultural roots back to the forefront. Many kids in Cowtown these days have never even seen a cow, but that changed Wednesday for a group of students on a field trip.
You can see herds of sheep, cattle and any farm animal you can think of at the Stock Show and Rodeo, but the most entertaining may be the herds of children who come from schools all over Fort Worth for their first taste of life on the farm.
NBC 5 sat in on one lesson about where their glass of milk comes from.
"That's where our milk comes from, what's left over after we feed the baby. On the farm who eats first? The babies. Then who eats? The big cows. Then who comes? Us. The animals always come first," said Todd Griffin, an instructor for the Mobile Dairy Classroom, in front of a room full of second graders from Bill J. Elliott Elementary School.
Growing up in East Fort Worth, the kids know the city, but farm life is a whole different world. For many, this was their first time seeing a cow up close.
They watched how it produces milk, and they gained a whole new appreciation for what they eat and drink every day.
"I learned that cows are very important to our lives and they help us survive," said second grader Kayla Petty.
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Classmate Terrance Williams added, "They give us vitamin D and vitamin C, and I love cows a lot."
"It's really exciting because you haven't really seen that thing before, and it's really cool to see it up close," said another classmate, Julyssa Arias.
"It helps you to see where you come from and how sometimes you're more fortunate than others, or vice versa," said teacher Cyerra Robles. "Everyone lives a different lifestyle, one no better than the other, and it just helps to open up and see, 'Oh, this is how they live,' and it's very different, but it's kind of unique. It's cool, you know?"
The kids also got a tour from student leaders from local Future Farmers of America chapters, including the livestock shows and the petting zoo.
About 1,000 school children from Tarrant and surrounding counties come through the Stock Show and Rodeo every day.
