Bunnies, goats and chickens could all be seen all in one place during Milford Fun Days – the FFA Petting Zoo. The petting zoo was at the Senior Center lawn on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Jim Wissenburg, an FFA advisor and agricultural education instructor for Milford Public Schools, said he has helped with the petting zoo since 2010, but it has been going on for decades before his arrival.
All of the animals in the petting zoo are owned and are projects of students in the FFA program. Wissenburg said they usually have six to eight projects presented in the petting zoo each year.
One aspect of the petting zoo, Wissenburg said, was different compared to others was how he described the petting zoo as being one big pen instead of rounding all the animals up into separate pens.
“Little kids can get right up to them and have contact with them,” Wissenburg said. “That's always our goal.”
Little kids aren’t the only group that loves to see the petting zoo, Wissenburg said those who are retired ag professionals also enjoy the petting zoo and getting to interact with animals once again.
“It's not always just kids, even at the fair, sometimes it's older individuals who may have retired from agriculture,” Wissenburg said. “Sometimes they'll have stories of what they used to do when they raised (animals).”
Wissenburg said that the discussions between FFA students and those attending Milford Fun Days is a great way for FFA students to grow their communication skills and help educate their community on the importance of animals, especially in a state like Nebraska.
“Nobody can deny agriculture as a major aspect of Nebraska and just that opportunity to connect with it … hopefully they see it done in a safe way,” Wissenburg said.
