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Giving Back

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The Zwicker Farm annually hosts field trips of inner-city students and their families from the Quad City area, put on by the University of Illinois Extension. They are taught the origination of their food and are given the opportunity to see first-hand the equipment, fields, and livestock that constitute rural life.

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Class of 2034!

The Zwicker Family finds that some of the most eager minds rest within the innocence of young children. When teaching elementary students about farming basics, they always have an enthusiastic audience!

Jim and Carla embrace the title of 4-H leaders for the Rural True Blues 4-H club in Rock Island County as they have seized the opportunity to give back to the organization that has given so much to them and their children.

Top Left: The annual club Halloween party held at the Zwicker Farm.

Top Right: Jim teaching the members about gasoline engines and their components.

Bottom Left: Club members preparing their hogs, provided by Jim, for the upcoming fair.

Bottom Right: Eager 4-H'ers spending a day at the farm learning some tricks of the trade.

Trent has learned that if you want a quality CDL driver you need to start them young! One of the Zwicker trucks is brought to an elementary school to teach youngsters about the transportation of such vital agricultural commodities.

Top Right: Trent explaining how grain is transported out of the field.
Bottom Left & Right: Each of the students getting to practice "driving" the big rig!

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Each holiday you can often find Jim in a parade showcasing the benefits of 4-H.

 

Left: Jim with his John Deere 5020 at the Memorial Day parade in East Moline.

Right: Jim driving the Rural True Blues 4-H club through the streets of Rock Island for the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

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As each summer rolls around, so do the local county fairs of Mercer, Henry, and Rock Island. The Zwicker family enjoys volunteering in the general projects categories as judges and teaching lifelong knowledge and skills to the next generation. 

 

Top Left: Trent works with the 4-H'ers in the categories of Crops and Plants & Soils.
Top Right: Deanna teaches the future children of 4-H, the Cloverbuds!
Bottom Left: Alyssa helps them get the next best shot in photography.
Bottom Right: Kelsey aids them in exploring their creative side in visual arts.

We find it vital to inform consumers about where their food comes from, how it is cared for, and the process in which it is raised. Here, Trent hosts a local 4-H club at the hog building and teaches them the in's and out's of just how those delicious strips of bacon made it to their breakfast plate!

Top Right: Trent explaining the overview of how the barn works.
Bottom Left: The youngsters learn how the            piglets come into the building                          and how the market hogs leave via the load-out chutes.
Bottom Right: Automation of feed, cooling, and watering systems are explained.

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