On September 26th 2018 Ed Kee joined the AGRI130 class to discuss agriculture in Iowa and California. According to Ed “Iowa is an agricultural force in the United States and the World.” He then proceeded to tell us some very interesting facts about Iowa to support his statement. For example, 85% of Iowa’s land mass is for Agriculture. Compare this to the state of Delaware which only has 41% of land mass used for farming. Iowa is only ranked behind California in cash farm receipts and agricultural exports. Almost all (92%) of Iowa’s cash farm income comes from beef, corn, and soybeans. Although Iowa is behind California in cash farm receipts and agricultural exports, Iowa is number one in corn and soybean production. Iowa harvests an average of 13.1 million acres of corn a year and 553.7 bushels of soybeans a year. California is also first in milk and cheese, grapes, tomatoes, and hay, to name a few. Ed went on to describe how the natural environment and climate/weather plays a big role in the success of each of these agricultural giants. Ed gave a fascinating discussion on agricultural industries that may not be as well known to the students at the University of Delaware.
Tag Archives: Agriculture
Ed Kee: Iowa and California Agriculture
On September 26th, Ed Kee came into the class and gave a lecture on the important key points of agriculture in Iowa and as well California. The main points that caught my attention is how much land is used solely for agriculture in Iowa. And the reasons is that the land is very fertile and holds many nutrients in the ground as well holds the rain water very well. and that their main means of money is very similar to Delaware’s crops. And how California is able to grow so much with little amount of rain. even though they don’t have much humidity which is good for vegetables. Also the way you think of California being a big city that only parties but they also are number one in multiple markets of good. Like Milk and cheeses, almonds, grapes and many more.
Agriculture Giants with Ed Kee
Wednesday, September 26th, Ed Kee spoke to AGRI130 students about agriculture in Iowa and California and why they are considered agricultural giants. In Iowa, 85% of the land mass is used for agricultural purposes. To put in perspective how much land that is, Iowa tills about 30.5 million acres while Delaware tills about 490,000 acres. That amount of land specifically used for agricultural purposes in Iowa is crazy! In addition Iowa is the number one producer in corn, soybean, hog and egg production. Therefore it makes sense that 92% of Iowa’s cash flow comes from the above products plus beef production. A big reason why Iowa is able to produce so much is because of how fertile the land is and how plentiful the rainfall is. On the other side there is California that receives less rainfall than average. However, due to the insufficient rainfall (only 10 inches a year, except on the coast) there is a lack of humidity that makes growing vegetables an easy task and helps decrease disease in crops. This state is a agricultural giant because they rank number one in numerous vegetables (i.e tomatoes), nuts and fruits. The new technology farmers now use to better irrigate their fields is amazing in regards to how much more efficient the process is and the resulting increase in crops per acre.
Overall, Ed Kee’s lecture was extremely informative about how much the U.S. relies on the agriculture industry in both Iowa and California. If one were to fall there would be major ripple effects throughout the industry nationwide and possibly worldwide.
Ed Kee’s Second Guest Lecture
Listening to former Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee last Wednesday Sept. 26, I realized that the United States has by far one of the most diverse agriculture industries in the world. This diversity is due to our various climates and soils from coast to coast that allows farmers to grow the crop that will best grow on their farm. As for California and Iowa they have excelled in finding what best grows in their state allowing these two states to hold the top two positions in the U.S. agriculture industry. Iowa is a state that really catches my attention because they grow many commodities that we grow here on the delmarva but they achieve unthinkable yields. Kee taught us that because of their high yields Iowa leads the country in both corn and soybean production, which is an astonishing accomplishment if you ask me. But then I realize that they have a huge advantage compared to little Delaware because they have 30.5 million acres in farmland compared to 450,000 acres here. Then when I look at California the top agriculture state I’m just amazed how they cope with only 10 inches of rain a year by using aqueducts that bring water to their crops. California also amazes me by ranking number 1 in 9 different commodities in the U.S. and being the 10th largest general economy in the world! That means out of all the countries in the world just one state has enough economic activity to rank 10th, it just takes me by surprise. Overall I could talk about these two states for days because the information that Ed Keeps taught me was very interesting.
Cartanza Poultry Farm Field Trip
On September 22nd, the AGRI130 class visited Georgie Cartanza’s broiler farm located in Dover, Delaware. Upon arrival everyone was sat down outside and listened to Georgie give a presentation on how and why she got started in the industry and what she actually does on the farm. The farm is an organic farm that grows for Coleman, an organic integer. Next the students were outfitted in PPE, which consisted of plastic coveralls, a hair net, and plastic booties. This precaution is to help prevent any diseases the class could have brought in from spreading to the chickens.
It was very interesting when the students had the chance to enter into two of Cartanza’s chicken houses. One was fully occupied while the other was empty. The differences in the two houses was really intriguing. Without the chickens inside it became glaringly obvious how vast the houses are. Each house on her farm is 600 feet long by 65 feet wide. To put that in perspective, each house is almost two football fields long! The houses themselves were surprisingly super cool inside. Each one has a ventilation system and fans to help circulate the air through the houses. Air is sent through about every 60 seconds. The chickens seemed very comfortable inside and had no desire to step outside when given the opportunity to do so.
Big thank you to Georgie Cartanza for allowing the AGRI130 students to come out and visit her farm.
Organic Poultry Farm Tour
On September 22, 2018 The Ag 130 class went on a field to Georgie Cartanza’s Organic Poultry Farm. On that tour she gave many incites into ho the poultry operation works and what her day to day life consists of when working on the farm. First off when we got to the farm we sat on her make shift chairs for us that was her pine shaving’s she uses. She touched base with us on some of the same stuff that she explained in her lecture that she gave to use before we came to the farm. Once that was over we got suited up in hair nets and white coveralls so we don’t take in any unwanted diseases and helping out with bio-security. Then once we got to finally get inside of the chicken house it was so bizarre to see so many birds in one spot. And still having plenty of room to move around and enjoy themselves. Then we went into the chicken house beside the first on to see what an empty house looks like its so odd how the house barely smell do to the ventilation system that they have in place at there farm and how well the vegetative buffers work to keep the odor down as well.
Delaware Food Shed with Guest Speaker Ed
On September 17th 2018 Ed Kee came to the University of Delaware to discuss The Agriculture industry in Delaware. Ed began his talk by giving a brief history of the agriculture industry in Delaware. For example, In 1950 there were around 8,300 farms that accumulated about 904,000 acres of land. In the late 1970s there were 3,398 farms that took up just under 669,650 acres of land. The most recent results taken in 2007 showed that there are a little bit more than 2,500 farms and 510,253 acres of farm lands. I was amazed that the number of farms and number and acres has decreased over time. That being said, farmland still makes up 41% of the land mass in Delaware. After Ed discussed the past of the agriculture industry he talked about the future. He said that by 2050 the global agriculture would have to grow by 70% to feed the estimated 9.3 billion people on the planet. It was very interesting to think about all the possible ways this industry could change and must change in order to provide food for the increasing population size.
Ed Kee Guest Lecture
It was very interesting to listen to Ed See guest lecture in class. He spoke a lot about the evolution of Delaware Agriculture as well as the history behind it. Right from the gecko, it was really cool to hear that Delaware has an Ag Land Preservation Program that works towards preserving farm land. In Pa, we have a program that does the same thing and it is cool to see other states working hard to protect agriculture too. However, it was really surprising to see the numbers relating to how much acreage has been lost over the years. I couldn’t believe that between 1950 and 2007 the total acreage in Delaware has decreased 24%. Besides his slides, it was also interesting to just hear him talk about his personal experiences in agriculture locally and globally! It is very cool to hear this and then see how it shaped what he wanted to accomplish. What really stuck out was Delaware’s Young Farmer Program that gives young people a financial gateway to start farming. I really liked this program because I think the only way agriculture will progress is if we give young people the opportunity to get started. Overall, I very much enjoyed listening to Ed Kee guest lecture and am looking forward to his next lecture.
How Agvocating Can Be An Extension to Your Professional Brand
- Guest Speaker : Michele Walfred
Communications Specialist, Michele Walfred explains that identifying your brand and marketing that brand is key to your success with career, internship, and business opportunities. When identifying your brand the key is to keep everything with your real name moderate and professional. This includes keep social media accounts separate, it’s ideal to have a personal account and a serious account this is branded to your real name. Always use caution when accepting new friends/followers on social media, accounts could have hidden agendas. Creating a professional brand demonstrates how well networked or connected a candidate is. With many organizations moving into social media they are looking for staff that have these skills and connections. It is very hard to erase your social imprint online so it’s best to follow these tips. When having a moderate and professional brand people tend to take you more seriously and beneficial because people will want to hear what you have to say.
So what is agvocating?
Agvocating is to advocate for agriculture. Advocating for agriculture is important because there are so many negative false reports on what agriculture is. It is important for Agvocates to debunk the information that is false. To do so one can post on their social media accounts providing information about agriculture to educate people that have little information or interest in agriculture. So all agriculture lovers start Agvocating!
Making Social Media Work for your Career-Brand and Agriculture
On September 12th, 2018 Michele Walfred came in and gave a lecture on Social media. The benefits that us as young adults can use it to help brand ourselves to make us look better to the company that wants to hopefully hire us. At first she began to explain to us about her and who she is, She has a BA, in Journalism with a MA, Digital Humanities. She also an administrator on several platforms from UDCANR to the MidAtlantic Woman in Agriculture. The thing I took away from here lecture was watch what you post about yourself and what your doing in that because it can effect your hiring process. Because if it shows that your bashing the company your working for does that make it look good for your next job when they pull that up. Also put only what you want to show how you “Brand” your self because if you have a embarrassing post as your wallpaper that’s what people are going to think about you. That post will follow you around for the rest of your life as well since its in your digital footprint. By doing these small things it will bring a better formal look on you instead of having bad things that can restrict the ways people look at you.
Making Social Media Work for your Career Brand and Agriculture with Guest Speaker Michele Walfred
On September 12th Michele Walfred came the University of Delaware as a guest speaker for the AGRI130 class. She discussed the importance of media and it can control what career you end up having. Michele started off by giving a brief background of her career. She has a BA in Journalism and a MA in Digital Humanities. Michele is the administrator on multiple platforms for UDCANR, MidAtlantic Women in Agriculture, and Delaware Press Association to name a few. After she gave her background she described our social media as our brand. Most of the individuals she was talking to were young adults about to apply for the first professional job and/or career. She explained that we should all being trying to brand ourselves with something we are passionate about and want to make a career out of. She also told us that we should should be consistent in the language we use as well as the types of photos, messages, and anything we put out on social media. I was really fascinated with all the different aspects of creating a social media brand that Michele provided. I cant wait to make my own brand in the near future.
Social Media Do’s and Don’ts
Today social media is involved in everyone’s life from the business world to recreational use, everyone is using it in some form another. Though with all trends there are always negative impacts that need to be considered and understood with social media. Michele Walfred a well known Communication Specialist and Agriculture agvocate gave our class a presentation on social media and how we need to be aware of all its impacts because just one post can make you go from company CEO to unemployed. During her presentation a concept that really stood out to me was having two accounts with one not being linked to your name and having one that is professional. This way when applying for jobs an employer will only be able to see your professional account and will not find anything that influences them to not hire you. Another point that Michele made was post things or share things on your account that relate to your job interest and explain what is going on in the post especially if you are a part of the agriculture community because there is a lot of misunderstood information that can easily be cleared up with some explanation.
Delmarva Poultry Industry with Georgie Cartanza
On Monday September 10th, 2018 Georgie Cartanza spoke as a guest lecturer to the AGRI130 class. She touched on many issues and changes within the poultry industry, the focus being on the poultry industry in Delmarva. What was very surprising was how many birds are produced annually in Delmarva. The number being 605 billion birds produced annually. This is equivalent to 9.6% of the national production. Ms. Cartanza also touched upon misconceptions regarding the use of GMOs, steroids and chemicals. I was not surprised to hear that many people think this way. The truth to this is that the poultry industry does not use any of the previously mentioned items. Instead the change in the chickens is due to improvements in genetics and nutrition.
Another topic that was covered is the evolution of the chicken houses. More specifically, how the use of technology has greatly increased the welfare of the chickens. In addition, the current version of the chicken houses allow for the farmers to handle and monitor the feeding and cooling systems more efficiently.
Georgie Cartanza was extremely informative and is a great advocate for both the poultry industry and agriculture.
Evolution of the Poultry Industry on Delmarva: Georgie Cartanza
Coming from a farming background with my family that raised chickens in the outskirts of Frankford. I thought I knew everything there was to know when It came to chickens. Then when the lecture began with Georgie. we learned about how the industry started off with a mishap with instead of a lady getting 50 chickens she received 500. Then how the industry grew from taking 9 weeks for a chicken in the 50’s to weigh only 905 g then in 2005 it was up to 4,202 g in weight over 9 weeks. From that people began to think farmers were pumping them with steroids and hormones. which is not the case the farmers and hatchery’s began to look into the genetics that’s were they began to breed the chickens to the best rooster and hen.
I began explaining some of the topics we learned in the lecture with Georgie Cartanza to my father that took care of the chickens on the farm he was very surprised and so was I that how much the industry has changed. Like how much less you have to do to keep the chickens comfortable and not being to stressed. You could control your heating and or cooling of the house by smart phone instead of having to go in and change it all by hand. One major thing I learned was that in organic poultry farming that the chickens can’t get any antibiotics if they are sick. So they may take a big cut since they can’t sell there chickens. Also that they can have the chickens go outside of the chicken house which is cool. In a way it is kind of scary because they are more likely to get Avian influenza. which can spread and your farm has to be In quarantine. There is so many new things that I learned from her can’t wait to she her farm soon.
Social Media in Today’s Ag – Michele Walfred
It was very cool to listen to Michele guest lecture about her path to where she is now, and how she has used social media/branding to get there. It was very intriguing to hear how she went from having no agriculture background at all, to now being such a crucial part of agvocay. I learned a lot about how to conduct yourself on social media for branding and professional purposes, rather then a true social interactions with your friends. As I learned, Michele is such a good example of that as she has been able to be apart of many events due to her presence on social media in the agricultural world. On the other hand, I was not surprised that educating consumers about agricultural is a crucial part of being on social media. I am always surprised by the amount of “fake news” out there about agriculture, and this was something Michele touched on as well. Overall, it was super beneficial to listen to information like this as a college student who is planning on being involved in agriculture post-graduation, specifically a farmer. Social media is such a beneficial form of communication if used correctly.