Wallace plant science takes field trip to Rainbow Farms

On the left: Shannon Malmkar explains the popcorn cleaner control room to Lydia Friesen, Allyson Kemp, and Colby Holm.

In the middle, Regan Martin dumps popcorn onto a conveyor. On the right, Shannon teaches students about popcorn testing procedures.

On October 15, the Wallace plant science class toured Rainbow Farms to learn about what happens to popcorn after it is harvested.

First, the students were taught about the conditions that have to exist for popcorn to pop. Shannon explained that the outer shell of seed has to be without cracks and the moisture level and maturity of the popcorn is important too. The class then went into the control room of the popcorn cleaner to see how it can be run by one person.

Paulman Farms donated popcorn to our school to be used at activities and in the concession stand. Shannon and Teresa Malmkar volunteered to clean the popcorn using their equipment. The plant science students dumped the popcorn onto the conveyor belt that takes it to the top of the popcorn cleaning facility. They watched as the popcorn traveled through the various stages of the cleaning process: removing rocks, metal, sticks, cobs, and bug remains.

Thank you to Paulman Farms and Rainbow Farms for donating both your time and your products!