Ag Business, Equine/Horse, Equipment & Engineering, Field Trips-Tours, Livestock

UD Farm Final Field Trip

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This past Saturday we had our final field trip which was located here at the UD farm and hosted by the farm superintendent Scott Hopkins. Even though it was a little cold and the wind was blowing it was still a nice day. Being a Pre-Vet major, I’ve had a couple classes on the farm such as the ANFS 111 lab and Organic and Sustainable Farming so I knew most about the farm but it stills amazes me that every time I step foot on it there’s always something learn. For example, last year I volunteered to help Larry Armstrong the Webb Farm Manager in vaccinating the ewe’s and help with the ultrasounds The farm is consisted of over 350 acres of land which is home to different types of animals such as Black Angus beef cattle, Holstein dairy cattle that get milked twice a day, Dorset sheep (which is my favorite), several varieties of chickens, bees, and seven horses. And even a field with hops for beer! On most Fridays there is a tent set up by the organic green houses that sells fresh produce to everyone including students plus the UDairy Creamery where you can buy more than just ice cream.

My favorite part about the farm is how hands on it is. Like during the ANFS 111 lab we get the opportunity to milk the cattle, trim the sheep’s hooves and have the ability to interact with the horses. The day of the field trip, Black Angus beef cows were loud but that was because they were separated from their young who are being weaned off the milk. The best part I like is that UD doesn’t just interact with itself. They have partnerships with other universities such as Rutgers (New Brunswick). For instance, when the dairy cows give birth UD keeps the bull calf for so long and then they ship them to Rutgers for research. UD and Rutgers share the cattle more or less to say which is pretty cool. There is so many career and research opportunities on the farm. If you talk to the right people you are able to be put on a wait list to be able to work with the animals although it is hard to schedule a break time within your normal class schedule to work on the farm but its most definitely worth trying. Also a huge thank you to Dr. Isaacs for treating everyone to ice cream and to Max as well for putting a performance on playing his fiddle!

Field Trips-Tours, Livestock

The UD Farm Experience

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Before coming to the University of Delaware one of the major things I have always heard about was the farm on campus, so I was beyond thrilled to get to see it on my tour before I chose this school. In not being able to see it while on tour I briefly rode by it while I was leaving, but I had no idea I had only seen 5% of what it had to offer. In having the ability to ride through and walk across the farm may seem like something simple to most students in the agriculture field, but it was something brand new and eye opening to me. In getting to walk through each building and see each different department was something I never thought I would get to see the ins and outs of. In going to the dairy part of the farm first, I was extremely honored and proud of how clean and organized everything was, and I experienced this in each new section of the farm. Every pasture or barn was neatly cleaned and cared for and exemplified how much the people in this field care about what they do. Getting to learn about the body language of the holstein cattle, how horses can stop their own contractions if they feel threatened, and the bellows of the beef cattle when being weaned away from their young were all new eye opening facts I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. My favorite part of the tour however, was getting to see all of the sheep. Growing up around the livestock industry in Delaware, I was more custom to seeing horses and cows, but sheep was a new territory. Learning about the rules put in place to allow sheep to give birth on their own and the process of selecting the best ones to keep and breed on the farm was something brand new to me, and I really enjoyed being in that environment. Overall, this was my most influential field trip because it hit the closest to home, not to mention the amazing UDairy ice cream and the wonderful fiddle entertainment by my fellow classmate Max afterwards, I was really impressed!

 

Field Trips-Tours

UD Research Farm Field Trip

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On November tenth, the AGRI 130 students had the opportunity to tour the University of Delaware’s Webb Farm with Scott Hopkins. Webb farm consists of 350 acres of land for crop and animal production. Webb farm features wetlands and forested areas for wildlife and insect populations as well as areas for agricultural production. The students had the opportunity to tour all of the animal facilities including dairy cattle, beef cattle, poultry, equine, and sheep. We also had the opportunity to learn and observe UD’s research areas with bees, hopps, and rice patties. The USDA has an entomology building on the farm, which gives students the opportunity to work with and research a variety of insect species. The entomology building is also used to study the effects of agricultural pests.  There are a variety of research projects being conducted on Webb farm, and UD has the facilities and animals to make these projects successful. For example, in dairy, a group can conduct research with feed through utilizing UD’s kahlen barn, in which each cow has been trained to eat at a specific feed troth and the RFID tags on the collar of the cows lock and unlock the feed troughs. The forage being stored at Webb farm is kept in plastic silos and can be utilized for teaching the importance of anaerobic fermentation of cattle feed as well as providing nutrition to the livestock. Over time, livestock can become too dependant on humans for basic functions such as parturition. Through a selective process, the managers at Webb farm have only kept individuals that are independent and successful for the purposes of teaching, production, management, and research. Webb farm provides the opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to gain hands on experience and enhance their agricultural education.   Mr.Hopkins provided a unique perspective on farming, animal management, and current agricultural issues during the tour. Thank you to Scott Hopkins for educating AGRI 130 students through a tour of Webb farm.

Production Agriculture

Changes in Ag in the Monsanto/Bayer Company

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In listening to Dave speak on all that has changed in agriculture and in the company he works for, Bayer, he focused on four main topics as the beginning of that change. This change was based around tools used to control agricultural pest and managing them. The first of these changes was labor. In the beginning of agriculture labor was highly reliant on animals to pull the tools they needed to plow the fields, followed by someone pushing the tools. In order to collect these crops large groups of people, often families, went out to their crops and would pick one plants that were ready to be harvested. In todays world we are heavily reliant on machinery and fewer people in order to harvest crops. The second main step in this change was mechanics. Steel was a main part to this change, as it became more of a reliant for farmers and their families and yields to the increase of agriculture during the early days. This is what evolved the industry to become more reliant on machinery and allowed the industry to begin the era of tractors. The third piece that impacted early agriculture was the use of chemicals, where they would use small molecules in order to aid to the crops. This allowed chemicals to protect the plants and repel the pests that may be ruining or have the potential to ruin a crop. This was also a time point of no till and chemicals greatly affected this. The final piece to impact agriculture pest management was the biological aspect, where we began using things like GMO’s to give us higher yields using less input. This was also a time of CRISPR (where you can isolate a certain gene) and RNAi (when you could shut off certain genes) which greatly impacted the ability for a farmer to produce more food and to gain higher yields, all to benefit the consumer. Without listening to Dave speak on how important these factors became in the field of agriculture, it could be difficult for one to think back on crop production and to realize just how far it has come. 

Equine/Horse, Field Trips-Tours, Livestock

UD Farm Tour

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We had an awesome opportunity to get an in-depth tour of the Newark farm on November 10th.  While I have had class on parts of the farm in the past, I hadn’t had the chance until now to see every part of the farm.  Learning about the various projects going on was super cool, like the apiaries and rice patties. We also got to tour the insides of the dairy facilities and learn all about how the cows are trained to just walk into the parlor when milking time rolls around, and how tedious and time consuming it can be to care for them.  Our tour guide Scott Hopkins, the farm superintendent, was full of so much knowledge and information, I didn’t lose focus once listening to him talk about the farm and his passion for it. He had a particular passion for the horses, and he showed us the horse barn and the different tools within it, such as the teasing wall, as well as the small indoor arena that I didn’t know existed. I was also amazed to learn that horses can stop contractions during labor if they feel threatened.  As a whole, the tour was super fun and interesting, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn as much as I did.

Agriculture Careers, Equine/Horse, Field Trips-Tours, Livestock, Poultry

UD Farm Tour

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Today on the UD farm was cold and windy but also a lot of fun! Scott Hopkins was so knowledgeable as the farm superintendent and very informative. The farm consists of an organic garden, 7 horses, 25 beef cattle, 85 dairy cattle, sheep and horses. Mr. Hopkins thinks that the dairy cattle are the most challenging to care for because the dairy cattle get milked twice a day which requires a lot of labor and the dairy cattle require a lot of different equipment. The farm provides food products to restaurants and to UD students through ice cream, produce stands, and star campus.

It was cool to see parts of the farm that I usually don’t get to see as a plant science major. I always love seeing the dairy cows, though sadly the babies were warded off by all of the rain that we have had. The angus cows did not want us around and mooed very loudly. The sheep were also not happy that we were barging in on the cud chewing. There are so many careers on a research farm such as managers and superintendents and other workers that participate on the farm but also professors and graduate students who are conducting most of the research done on the farm. Overall, I had a great time today and I am sad that this was our last field trip.

As mentioned, the sheep were not happy to see us and crammed themselves as far as they could into the corner of their pen.
Equine/Horse

Horse Racing Industry in Delaware ~ Mark Davis

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Horse racing in Delaware goes way back. Horse racing is one of the oldest out of all sports and it hasn’t undergone any changes over the centuries. In 1989, horse racing is the second most widely attended U.S. spectator sport after baseball. Over 56,194,565 people which brought in about $9.14 billion dollars attended 8,004 days of racing. This industry specifically has a $102 billion dollar impact on the US economy. In 1967 dover downs was incorporated, and on November 19, 1969 the fist DD harness race took place. There are many different regulations involved in horse racing. Horse racing is still a big part of Delaware. I would like to thank Mark Davis for taking the time to talk to us about this, it makes me want to get more involved and go watch a race with my family.

Equine/Horse

Mark Davis and the Horse Racing Industry

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Horse racing is one of the oldest known sports to men and is spread all throughout the World reaching many different audiences. In the United States there are 9.2 million horses where 844,531 horses are involved in racing. There are then 4.6 million people involved in the industry that do not necessarily own horses and then there is tens of millions of people watching. Within the horse racing industry there are two different events that include thoroughbred and harness racing. These two events believe it or not impact the United States economy hugely generating $39 billion just within the industry and $102 billon around the industry. Here in Delaware the horse racing industry dates back to 1760 when the first racing facility was built in Newark. Since then there has been many different race tracks built and many horse raisers try to join in on this booming industry. One reason many people are trying to get involved is the large winnings that are possible. With 2,300 harness races and 600 thoroughbred races a year in Delaware there are many opportunities for a racer to win. But when horses cost $16,000 too $19,000 on average per head it makes it quite difficult for a racer to make a profit.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Field Trips-Tours

Hoober Inc. Field Trip

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On Saturday, October 20th we visited the Hoober Inc. shop in Middletown, DE. It was an eye-opening day, full of learning and first-hand experience. First, the company’s history and services were explained. After receiving an explanation of the services provided, we took a tour of the facilities and the shop. We got the chance to see tractors and spreaders being worked on and complete models of combines and harvesters. It was intriguing to see how much work goes into precision agriculture. We learned that their store, the auto-steer is the most popular precision ag equipment sold. Precision ag is a field that offers many jobs, looking for applicants that are tech savvy and can work under pressure. A new and emerging precision ag technology being used are drones for filed scouting and spray applications. 

** precision ag – managing crop production inputs (seed, fertilizer, lime, pesticides, etc.) on a site-specific basis to increase profits, reduce waste and maintain environmental quality.

Equine/Horse

The Horse Racing Industry in Delaware

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I have only briefly been exposed to the horse racing industry when I went to one race as a little kid. I’ve never thought that the industry could have such a huge impact annual impact on the U.S. economy ($102 Billion). I think that it was smart of Delaware to revitalize the horse racing industry by passing the Delaware Horse Racing Redevelopment Act, which authorized slot machines at some horse racing facilities. Something that stuck out from his lecture was that not everyone who owns horses is very wealthy. In reality, approximately 34% of horse owners have a household income of less than $50,000. I definitely was part of the population who thought only wealth people had horses because of all the costs associated with owning one, such as feed, any needed medicine, immunizations, and so on. This industry so important as it not only contributes to the Delaware economy, but it also supported 1,540 jobs in Delaware in the year 2014.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Equine/Horse, History

Horse Racing Industry

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On October 24th, we had guest speaker Mark Davis give us a lecture on the horse racing industry in Delaware. 

The modern horse racing began in the 12th century when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arabian horses. It was not until the mid-1600’s when British settlers brought horse racing to the new world, with the first track made in Long Island. American horse breeders and racers established the Jockey Club, that still defines standards and regulations for racing, racecourses, and breeding. Harness racing is a prevalent part of the Delaware horse industry. In 1940, the opening of the Roosevelt Raceway set the stage for the current era of harness racing, which took off after WWII. In 1945, the Delaware Harness racing Commission was established. Delaware has two tracks used annually, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway. Over time, the popularity of harness and thoroughbred races went down. The decrease in public interest and aim to regain the interest of the industry the Delaware government passed a law allowing casinos to be established in the state. Casinos could only be established alongside a racetrack. With the law in place, the industry has been able to gain a steady income. Annually, the DE Harness Racing Commission issues 2,000 licenses to owners, trainers, drivers, groomers, vendors, and track employees. In 2014, the horse racing industry total contribution to Delaware economy was nearly $182 million dollars and 1500 jobs. Currently, in the U.S. there are 9.2 million horses which are used for show, racing, recreation, employees, and volunteers. The horse industry has a direct economic effect on the U.S. of $39 billion dollars annually. 

Equine/Horse, History

Horse racing industry

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Horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports that have taken place in the United States but there are even fewer that basically have had no change over the years they have been around.  On October 24 Mark Davis came into our Agri130 class and gave us a lecture on horse racing in Delaware with some history behind it. The thing that really surprised me was that the First harness race at Dover Downs in 1969 and I wouldn’t have even thought that they have had race there because I only known of the race track at Harrington. But that where I have watched all the races that I can remember. An how much income the state brings in from the horse race each year even though that the industry is slowly falling.

Livestock

Livestock industry in Delaware

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On October 22 our AGRI130  had Dan Severson come in and give a lecture on the livestock industry of Delaware. And how important livestock is to the state of Delaware. Dan talked about cows, sheep, pigs, goats and dairy with brief discussion on each animals info and what they are used for and what the income per year they are averaging.  From this the most surprising thing that I took away from the lecture was when he began to talk about how the dairy industry is just plummeting. And giving my fellow class mates the idea what dairy farmers are dealing with an what they have to do to over come there  circumstances. Also what I took away from his lecture was how many other livestock animals there are in Delaware.

Equine/Horse

Horse Racing Industry in Delaware

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I’ve been around horses my entire life and never knew that we had such a big harness racing industry in Delaware. I don’t know much about the horse racing industry in general, aside from going to Delaware Park a few times and watching the Kentucky Derby. However, I’ve owned horses my entire life and dabbled in many disciplines like dressage, jumpers, and eventing. So my experience in the equine industry is extensive, although only in a few specific areas.

Mark Davis taught me how prominent the harness racing industry in this area is. I think it’s a really cool opportunity for people to get involved with the equine industry that don’t want to be involved in the traditional equestrian lifestyle. I had no idea that historically, they crossed Arabians with Warmbloods to get race horses. When I think about horse racing, I only think about thoroughbreds, so Mark Davis was definitely informative about the history too.

I thought it was very interesting that he shared that about a third of horse owners are not very wealthy. I think this is one of the most common misconceptions about equestrians out there. We’re often labeled as the “rich kids” who own horses, but in fact many of us are working hard to make ends meet to pay for our horses!

 

Equine/Horse

The Horse Racing Industry of Delaware

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On Wednesday October 24 2018, The AGRI130 class had guest speaker Mark Davis come in and speak to the class about horse racing and the industry within Delaware. Mark began by talking about the history of horse racing. According to mark horse racing is one of the oldest sport, however modern horse racing did not begin until the 12th century when the english knights brought back fast Arabian horses from the crusades that were taking place around that time. In the late 17th century and early 18th century the first race track in the United States was established on Long Island, New York. He went on to explain that today there are roughly 9 million horses in the U.S. with 2 million people owning horses. He also brought up how much money the horse industry brings in to the economy. He said this industry brings in $39 billion every year. I was amazed at how much money was incorporated in this industry. Before this guest lecture I had very little knowledge on this subject. However, now I know so many interesting things about the amazing horse racing industry in Delaware.

A Class Journal for UDel CANR AGRI 130