Two alpacas, one llama visit Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High

Jordyn Cockburn, the Future Farmers of America instructor at Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High School, might not think all students should become farmers, but she does think they should have exposure to different elements of farming so they at least get the chance.

To that end, Cockburn is arranging monthly farm animal visits at LFO this school year. October was alpaca and llama month. TMMA Farms of Trion brought two alpacas, one llama and a variety of products made from the fur of the 40 alpacas on their farm to the school on the 19th.

TMMA Farms owners Maryann Marsh and Martin Orr unloaded their furry visitors on the lawn outside the school’s cafeteria and soon more than 100 students had gathered around.

“What we want kids to understand,” says Orr, “is that the clothes they wear are the result of someone’s hard work — raising animals or growing cotton. They don’t just come from the store.”

Marsh hopes to inspire students to consider farming themselves. “Farmers are the future,” she says. “But more than that, working hard feeds the soul. We work our tailends off and come in dirty and exhausted at the end of the day and that’s been a great day.”

After the lunch crowd thinned out, special education students got their turn to visit with the animals. “We’d already been there a couple of hours,” says Marsh. “The animals were tired, but as soon as they saw the kids, they seemed to realize they were special and knew they needed to act special, too, and they did. They loved the kids.”

The last round of students were ones interested in possibly joining the FFA program at the school. “Of around 30 kids,” says Marsh, “only four had ever been on a farm, so this was a little taste of farm experience for them.”

TMMA Farms provided small bags of alpaca fur for students to take home and had some of their products, from socks and gloves to stuffed animals, for sale at the school. To learn more about TMMA Farms and their animals, products and farm tours, visit tmmafarms.com or facebook.com/ tmmafarms.

Tamara Wolk These two alpacas visiting Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High School from TMMA Farms were perfect gentlemen as one student after another felt their soft fur.Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High School Future Farmers of America instructor Jordyn Cockburn (not pictured) felt alpacas would be a hit with students A pictureperfect pose by a TMMA Farms alpaca visiting Lakeview-fort Oglethorpe High School on Oct. 19.