Raised On A Farm... In The City

For a city kid, 9-year-old Sarah Rybak knows firsthand the reality of raising livestock. 

Rybak, who lives in Philadelphia, is a member of the Manatawna/Saul 4-H Club. The group raises animals on the Manatawna Farms complex operated by the School District of Philadelphia as part of its Saul Agricultural School. Sarah raised a piglet named Porkers on the farm from the time he was roughly 7-weeks-old.

Last week, she led Porkers, now a 6-month-old market pig, to a ring at the where he was sold.

"It's a big responsibility," Rybak said of raising a farm animal for market sale. "It's a little sad... He might be on your dinner plate. It's a little bit hard to let him go."

But that's what raising livestock is all about. The animals are not pets. 

Esther McCrea, 21, of Philadelphia, grew up in the city and its local 4-H program.

"It's a different sort of club... almost like a family," she said of 4-H. "You're taught how to raise the animal. I've raised cows, pigs and sheep."

The work is hard but brings great satisfaction, said Kris Julien, 13, a member of Fox Chase 4-H Farm Club. Kris raised a market goat he sold at the recent Farm Show for $350. The money goes to support the 4-H group, Kris said and added he feels "proud" to make the contribution to his club.

The School District of Philadelphia and the Fairmount Park Commission operate Fox Chase Farm as an agricultural education facility that's home to the 4-H club and draws visits from schools throughout the region.

"They allow us to keep our animals there," said Jim Kates, a Fox Chase 4-H leader, of the unique 112-acre farm in Philadelphia and Montgomery County where the club operates its program. The farm is an auxiliary campus of Swenson High School, he said. "We're really lucky."