On our third trip we took a slightly less distanced trip to the precision agriculture store known as Hoobers. Hoober’s employees being well versed in the installation of yield monitors as they stated them to be their most popular piece of precision agricultural equipment. After being given a brief tour of their facility and discussing the different types of equipment and machinery used, we were split into two separate groups. One group would briefly learn about the many uses of drones in agriculture today while the other group would get the opportunity to steer a tractor themselves. To my discovery upon driving a tractor for the first time, i was amazed at how great of a turn radius tractors have. Driving one of those vehicles of machinery for the first time will be an experience i will never forget. learning about the many uses of drones today was also very interesting as drones give a new aerial perspective for the agricultural world today like no other.
Delaware’s Green Industry was presented by Tracy Wooten and Valann Gudischak. We learned what and who is part of the green industry, with that being producers, retailers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses, and suppliers of equipment. Probably one o the most important lessons learned was the difference between floriculture crops and nursery crops. Floriculture crops being those bedding/garden plants, cut cultivated greens, flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, and propagative floriculture material. Nursery crops being those of broadleaf and coniferous evergreens, deciduous shade trees and flowering trees, deciduous shrubs and other ornamentals, fruit and nut plants for home use, cut and to-be-cut Christmas trees, and propagation material or lining out stock. Grower sales of nursery crops accruing to approximately $8 billion annually and floriculture crops at approximately $4.8 billion. Learning about this part of agriculture was interesting as you do not hear about it often and the many job and career opportunities lie within the green industry.
Our second field trip was held at fifers Orchards. We were given the opportunity of a thorough tore throughout the farm at the orchard, were they grew both fruits and vegetables. It was surprising that pumpkins were among those crops that bring in the greatest income as well as sweet corn. I was very impressed with Fifers’ social media out reaches as they used multiple social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to try and reach out to more potential customers. We got to see firsthand in the assembly lines of apples, where they were boxed by a certain grading standard and those seen unfit to consumption standards are sent to be used for juice or to be disposed of. What I found most interesting was all the different types of apples that they grew at Fifers throughout the seasons. Honey crisp being my favorite of all others grown.
we experienced first hand what an apple line looks like and how they are categorized by grade, variety, and count
Our last field trip was to our very own farm here at UD. The farm superintendent, Scott Hopkins, gave us the tour. It was my first time being on the campus farm and it was really exciting to see everything that they did. Scott showed us the bees that are kept there and explained what it was liked to take care of them. It was really cool seeing that they had their own compost piles. On the Webb farm we saw the Ewes and their lambs. Scott even told us that the wool they sheer from the sheep gets sent out and made into blankets and sent back to UD. Towards the end of the tour we got to see the milking parlor. There was a lot more electronics involved in their parlor than in ones I have worked in at home. Scott also showed us the cows they been doing research on. Certain cows are trained to eat out of a certain spot. The tag that is hung by their neck allows them to eat at only their spot. So the cow with the number 231 can only eat in the spot numbered 231. They cannot go to another spot and eat, the tag only works at their spot. Overall, it was a really great experience to get to see all the different types of things they do on the farm!
Our guest lecture James Atkins came in and spoke about irrigation. He explained to us the different types of irrigation used on farms today. These included the traveling gun, drip, subsurface, and center pivot irrigation. With the center pivot system being the most popular use of irrigation there are other technologies that have been developed for it to increase its efficiency such as Zone and Variability controlling. This controls each water nozzle on the system. With electro-conductivity mapping, you are shown how over or under watered an area of the field is. With the combination of these technologies you are working the most efficiently, being able to change the amount of water coming out of the nozzle so each area of your field is getting what it needs and increasing its yield.
Delaware’s Executive Director of Harness Racing Commission, Mark Davis, came and spoke to us about the Horse Racing Industry in Delaware. Horse racing is one of the oldest of all sports.
He explained to us the difference between Harness Racing horses and Thoroughbred horses. Harness Racing horses pull and race more than a thoroughbred does(3,000 races a year). A Thoroughbred horse races with a jockey and races less(700 races a year). The Delaware Horse Racing Redevelopment Act was passed in 1994 allowing slot machines at horse racing facilities. The horse industry has a direct economic effect on the U.S. of $39 billion annually. 46% of horse owners have an income of between $25,000 to $75,000.
This article talks about how on Wednesday September 14, 2016 it was announced that Bayer a chemical company best know for its pharmaceuticals such as aleve and asprin would be buying out Monsanto to cause one of the biggest agricultural mergers ever seen. The buy out was valued at approximately $66 billion and has caused much uncertainty to some of the public as this is yet another huge merger of agricultural and chemical businesses. This deal marks as the biggest German takeover yet of an American firm.
Our fourth and final field trip consisted of a short trip the the various farms run by the University of Delaware. Scott Hopkins who has worked at the University for many years was our guide for the day. Our first stop was at Webb farm where we stopped and visited the Equine building, which was currently empty as we learned the horses spend most of their time during the day grazing rather than being in their pens. I found it interesting how female horses can control child birth so freely and how the horse has progressively moved towards the title of companion along those of cats and dogs. After, we breifly visited the sheep and lambs as they mostly ate and chose to ignore our presence. After the visit to Webb farm we made our way over to UD’s dairy farm. Here we learned how dairy cows are trained to eat out of certain feed bins specifically for them. At the the end of the trip we were treated with ice cream from our very own UD creamery.
empty stable shown here as we learned about how the horses spend their time grazing
At the UD research farm I was able to see the diverse studies that take place there . Studies on dairy cattle, bees, and horses are just a few of the animals that are on the farm. Along with livestock research UD also studies in green houses and horticulture and have nice facilities. the Farm also has woodland acreage for wildlife studies which is what I found really interesting. visiting the research farm was really fun and I enjoyed seeing what they do there
Our first field trip was to Georgie Cartanza’s farm which is one of Delaware’s organic chicken operations. On the trip Georgie told us some of the differences between organic and non organic poultry production. Some of the main differences is the organic feed that comes from Argentina and Turkey as well as the chicken houses layout. Organic chicken houses have windows installed along with wooden structures that chickens can climb on they also give chickens the ability to go outside into a fenced in area. She also explained some some of the technology that is used in the chicken houses that is used to regulate temperature, humidity, and feed and water the chickens. Over all the the field trip was very informative and it was very interesting to see what its like to be a poultry producer.
On our third field trip to Hoobers we were able to see how and why precision Ag is is used. Hoobers sells precision Ag equipment from trackers to yield generating systems. During the field trip we where shown how drones are being implemented for recording data in crops with the use of semi infrared cameras which may play a huge roll in Ag in the future. We also had the chance to drive a tractor and see how a GPS is used to plant crops and increase the crop yield for farmers. While driving the tractor we where shown how the computer system can drive the tractor on its own as well. The trip was very informative and I found it very interesting on how the use of drones is now being used in Ag.
On 10/26/16 Mr. James Atkins visited our Delaware Agriculture class to give us a guest lecture about agriculture irrigation and its new and growing technologies. Mr. Atkins showed us different irrigation systems used in today’s agricultural farming practices. Some of these different systems of irrigation include the traveling gun, shallow surface and subsurface drip irrigation, and the most widely used center pivot system. He further explained that new technologies have been outfitted on center pivot irrigation systems to increase their efficiency such as zone and variability controlling and even corner arm extension pivot systems. Zone and variability controlling refers to specific control of each individual water dispensing nozzle on the center pivot irrigation system. Using variability irrigation, farmers are able to efficiently irrigate their crops without over watering or under watering in specific areas of the field, for example, if the farm is not perfectly level then some crops would get more water than others. These new technologies greatly increase the precision agriculture for everyday local farmers. The corner arm extension for the center pivot irrigation system really comes in handy when your farm isn’t a perfect circle. The extension arm acts as its own pivot system to get those hard to reach areas of your crop field. James Atkins also showed us new and upcoming forms of agriculture technologies such as the use of drones. He explained that drones are being used more and more in the agriculture industry for things like scanning and surveying farm lands. Using drones is another important aspect of becoming a more efficient and accurate farmer when it comes to planting, harvesting, and watering.
The last field trip from our Delaware Agriculture class was the tour of the 350 acre Newark farm. This was by far the most interesting and exciting trip we have been on and I truly enjoyed it. We explored all of the different animals and research experiments on the farm and learned a great deal about them. It was explained to us that the horses are the most challenging animal to take care of on the farm simply because they are very temperamental. Also, a great challenge to keep the farm running smoothly is the constant maintaining of the land and its resources. Resource rich farm lands are rapidly being sold off to developers and it is a constant struggle to keep our farm lands safe and resource rich. As a fight against this increasing loss of farm lands, University of Delaware has recently implemented a variety of research experiments dealing with entomology and wildlife conservation. New and exciting research is being conducted every day at the Newark farm to ensure the growth of many species, such as honey bees. One of the most interesting aspects of the Newark farm trip was when we took a tour of the farms milk pasteurizing center, I had never seen or been in a room set up for milking before and it was quite the experience. I am very happy to have taken a tour of the blue hen farm and I’m very excited to be up there participating in new research experiments next year!
One of the first guest lectures of our Delaware Agriculture class was when Secretary Kee came to class and explained the great importance and the vast responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture. Secretary Kee also explained possible career pathways that have to do with the many responsibilities of the department. Some of the significant roles the Department of Agriculture consists of the regulation of the horse racing industry, the maintaining of state parks and lands, and the responsibility of controlling invasive non-native species and diseases. Another important responsibility of the Department of Agriculture is the system of weights and measures. The system of weights and measures program of the department is responsible for gauging and testing the accuracy of gas station pumps. Every gas station in the state of Delaware must be certified by the system of weights and measures of the Department of Agriculture to ensure its accuracy. As Secretary Kee explained, there are many responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture and it his job to make sure that all programs and sub departments are running smoothly. Secretary Kee showed me a variety of successful jobs and careers all within the agriculture industry during his visit and I very much enjoyed his lecture.
The most interesting guest lecture from our Delaware Agriculture class was Mr. Mark Davis’s. Mark visited our class on 11/1/16 and gave us and in-depth history of the horse racing industry as well as its prevalence today in the modern agriculture community. We learned that horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world and that, today, the horse industry has a direct economic effect of about 39 billion dollars annually in the U.S. Also, we learned that there are two types of horses used in the horse racing industry as well as two types of racing. The first one is called thoroughbred, and that is the kind of horse that is raced with a rider on its back, called a jockey. The other kind of horse is Standardbred and these are horses used for harness racing. The biggest harness racing track in Delaware is located in Harrington at the state fair grounds. Mark Davis also explained to us the many working parts of the horse racing industry which is all regulated by the Department of Agriculture. Some of these parts include the horses, horse owners, jockeys, trainers, vets, suppliers, casinos/tracks, government representatives, commissions regulators, horse racing associations, and of course the betting public. Mark Davis’s lecture opened my eyes to huge industry of horse racing which I had previously known little about. I appreciate the time he took to inform us about this growing industry.
