Listening to Mark Davis speak about the horse racing industry was definitely interesting and he was able to easily keep my attention. Learning about the horse industry is definitely something I didn’t think I would be so engaged in, but I was extremely engaged with him as he lectured. Learning about the difference between harness racing and thoroughbred racing was something I had never heard about and I was intrigued because of how often I hear about Dover Downs and other horse racing casinos. I also did not know how important casinos are to the overall economic stability of Delaware. Learning about all of this allows me to understand a little more of the agriculture industry and a little more about Delaware’s economics . Not only are casinos important to the economy, but without casinos, the horse racing industry would probably be on a decline.
Tag Archives: Agriculture
Precision AG Lecture-Mark Isaacs
During the lecture, I was very intrigued to see how technology and especially drones are incorporated into agriculture work. Watching the video about drone use in California just helped me understand the importance of emerging technology. It now only allows more efficiency and decrease the hard labor for workers and can give them more free time to work on any other important tasks. Not only are drones important but watching looking at GPS and how important it is to optimize returns and preserving resources. Farmers have to battle constant price increases and smaller profit margins and the only way to keep up and sustain a profit making farm, is to incorporate precision AG into their daily tasks. It not only helps them make more money, but it increases their quality of life, whether that be giving them more time to spend with family etc.
Delawares Green Industry
After listening to this lecture many students may have developed a green thumb. Mrs. Tracy Wootten and Mrs. Valann Budischak spoke to the class about Delawares green industry.
The Green Industry includes producers, retailers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses and suppliers. Its incredible that horticulture product sales in 2014 were $21,774,000, with Containerized being number one in nursery production at 62.4%. We learned their are two crop groups in the industry including floriculture crops which include bedding/garden plants, cultivated greens, cut flower and potted flowering plants. Nursery crops include broadleaf evergreens, shrubs, Christmas trees and fruit and nut plans.
Delaware Nursery & Landscape Association was a nonprofit organization we learned about that works to advance the common interests of its members and to promote the use and enhance the quality of the products and skills of the green industry.
I found this lecture to be very interesting because it shows how many jobs are tied to the green industry.
The Horse Racing Industry
Growing up with grandparents that owned racehorses I loved going to Harrington to watch them race. While its not as popular today Horse Racing used to be a huge industry in Delaware. Mark Davis spoke to the class about how the horse racing industry has changed overtime and the economic impacts on Delaware. Horse racing is actually one of the oldest sports and was brought to America by the British.
Mr. Mark Davis talked about the different types of horse racing, Thoroughbred and Harness racing. Harness racing is much more common with about 2300 races a year compared to only 600 a year for Thoroughbred.
Horse Racing has about a $182 million impact on Delawares economy. It also supports about 1540 jobs. The horse racing industry is another great example of careers in agriculture and animals. I throughly enjoyed this lecture because it was a topic I didn’t know much about except for watching the sport growing up.
Importance of Irrigation
While most people may be driving down the road and use the spraying irrigation as a car wash, they may not realize the importance of irrigation to agriculture. Mr. James Adkins spoke to the class about the different systems of irrigation especially in different climates and places around the world. He started by showing us how irrigation has changed overtime and how new advancements have made irrigation much more successful. He even gave us a very important tip of not parking our cars in the wheel track of irrigation unless we want a crushed car.
I found it very fascinating when Mr. Adkins explained how 1 million gallons of water is used by 100 acres of corn in one day during pollination. One day!!!! This shows how important water is to agriculture. Irrigation has a huge impact especially in Delaware since our soils do not hold as much water.
From Cow to Cone!
Our last field trip to the UD Research Farm was very interesting and informative. There is so much that goes on at the farm that I had no idea about, even though it is right down the street! Scott Hopkins did a great job bringing us to all the aspects of the farm and giving us insight and explanations on what goes on in each section of the farm. Although I have been to the farm on multiple occasions for my major, I haven’t had as much of an overview of all the moving parts of the farm before this field trip.
An area that I learned more about was the sheep. It was interesting to know that there is no “job” for these sheep, such as the dairy or beef cattle. The sheep are just there to be raised and reproduced and grow wool, but mainly there for teaching. It was also interesting for me to learn that they are separated into groups at random (for the most part) and stay with their group which also contains a ram. This ram wears a belt that visibly indicates when he mounts the sheep, to be able to check for pregnancy in breeding season.
Another area I did not have much knowledge on was the horses. I was able to get a glimpse of the horses grazing on the field, but the barn where the horses may go was the most fascinating for me. I have been in there once before, but had no idea about the technology and special features the barn had, which makes it easier for handling the horse for whatever reason needed. I also found it interesting that the horse can “control” going into labor, and be able to stop if she chooses to do so. The fully gated sides of the pen, versus just a tiny section of grate, allows people to see the horse, and the horse to see the people as well as the other surroundings. So, if the horse does not want to foal while someone is there, people can still keep tabs on the horse with cameras, which is something I think would be so beneficial.
Overall, this field trip was a great last field trip. We were able to learn more about all the things that go on at the farm that is a part of our school! It was also really cool (and yummy) to get some ice cream after, because it shows an end product of the dairy cow production. For me, it was so neat to be able to see a calf in its hutch, and then see how that’ll turn into a large cow in a short amount of time. This cow will then eat hundreds and hundreds of pounds of feed a day to allow it to produce the milk it does, which ultimately turns into the delish ice cream we can enjoy. Personally, seeing this full circle was the best part of this amazing field trip!
University of Delaware’s Research Farm
On November 4th, my class had the privilege of meeting the University of Delaware’s Newark farms superintendent, Scott Hopkins, who led the tour for us. We started the tour with an introduction to the dairy herd that supplies us our beloved UDairy ice cream. Scott Hopkins explained that the dairy herd was the most difficult and time consuming livestock on the farm due to the amount labor, time and research that goes into the herd. I found it really interesting to see how feed studies were conducted on a herd within by the use of ID collars that would sync with a specific feed bin that granted that specific cow access to its feed. This practice helps to conclude that technology plays a major role in livestock production. We then moved onto the poultry section of the farm where he explained to us why there were so many small shed-like houses. These are used for testing immunology and virolity amongst small flocks of birds. I think that this field of research is so fascinating and important, especially since the poultry industry is huge to the Delmarva area. Next, we ventured to Webb Farm where we learned about the beef management practices, equine practices, as well as the sheep practices. Currently, the farm is tracking estrous in the ewes and are monitoring breedings and whether or not the ewes take. They track this by recording which ewes have the color coded chalk on their backs – marking a mounting by the ram – and crossing the presence of chalk with their estrous cycles. Scott was very informational and provided a lot of insight into how much work really goes into running a successful farming operation. He was well versed and had a tremendously wide amount of knowledge. I learned a lot on this trip and I hope to continue learning more about management practices throughout my time here at the University of Delaware
Newark Research Farm Fieldtrip
On Saturday our class took the last field trip to the research farm at Newark. Scott Hopkins gave us a tour of the farm which had livestock such as cows, sheep, and horses, and also fields for vegetable production. He explained how they have a section they grow basically organic so that students can experience how much more work it is to produce organic crops. It was amazing to see how the cows were trained to eat at the same place everyday and all the tests they did on them. The horse barn was also interesting because they built it to make the horses feel more comfortable. The farm is roughly 350 acres split between all the different sections, it was very well maintained and pretty. Despite the very chilly and windy weather, it was a great experience. Mr. Hopkins was very passionate about his job and easily connected with the students. He had so much knowledge about so many topics and was so easy to talk to. This field trip was a great way to end.
Newark Farm Tour
This previous Saturday, I spent time at the University of Delaware farm. I was so intrigued to see how this farm is able to teach students hands-on techniques in a manner that is safe and understandable. I was so amazed at the fact that dairy cows are taught where they are to feed and they are smart enough to retain that information and store it in their memories. I also really enjoyed how honest the farm manager was. He didn’t sugar-coat any type of information that we should know and made sure we knew to hold ourselves accountable for our actions. Walking through the farm was such a different experience than being on main campus. Everything is so calm, whereas main campus is always bustling. Seeing the mini versions of the chicken houses was also interesting, especially because we got to compare it to the full size version at Georgie’s farm. Overall, I very much enjoyed this field trip, especially the UDairy!
My garden is agriculture?
Before our lecture by Ms. Wootten and Ms. Budischak, I had never considered gardening or landscaping to be a part of agriculture. Many people may consider their only involvement in agriculture to take place in the grocery store, however our roles in a branch of agriculture known as the Green Industry are in closer proximity than we may realize (in fact, right in our backyards!). Based on what and how a person plants and landscapes, his or her backyard can not only look great, but also support the local ecosystem and environment. Simply planting one oak tree can support up to 534 different species of butterflies and moths, which in turn supports the avian population in the area and then extends further up the food chain.
The University of Delaware’s Cooperative Extension department and Botanic Gardens staff work towards educating both students and the community about facts to better develop our land and plants/crops. The Green Industry includes producers, retailers, landscapers, land managers, golf courses, and suppliers. Each aspect of this industry plays an important role in sustaining our environment and also helping it to look great, too!
Newark Farm Tour
Not only was this past Saturdays weather very cool, so was our field trip around the Newark farm. Scott Hopkins, the University of Delaware farm superintendent gave us a fascinating tour of the Webb Farm.
We were fortunate enough to see the milking parlor and learn that dairy cows are the most challenging animal to care for on the farm. Growing up on my families dairy operation I was able to see and experience first hand how labor extensive taking care of dairy cows can be and understood greatly what Scott Hopkins was explaining.
Not only did we see the dairy operation but we saw the beef, sheep and equine facilities. The equine facility was rather new with a large classroom that was very versatile and could also be used a spot for more hands on learning such as artificial insemination, collecting semen or even having the option to do some horse therapy and therapeutic riding. We also learned about the extensive research projects being conducted, Mr. Hopkins favorite being forage research.
We ended our trip with a stop at UDairy creamery. This was for sure one of my favorite field trips because of all the research being done in such close proximity.
Mark Lynas and GMO’s
What do you think of his position? Does he make a case for his change of heart and the way he now views GMOs?
GMO’s will always be a constant controversial topic because of the idea that farmers and corporations are essentially changing the physiology of a plant. When an audience reads about GMO’s, they often form an opinion based on the headline of an article, of the opinions of others, and most of the times these headlines and opinions are extremely misleading. To fully form an opinion, whether that be for or against GMO’s, the reader must become informed through different scientifically based arguments. Mark Lynas explains that before he changed his opinion on GMO’s, he found himself constantly defending himself using scientific arguments for other types of controversial subjects. He realized that if he was backing up his arguments with scientific data, why wasn’t he doing that with GMO’s. He developed his opinion because of the preconceived idea that all corporations are lying, scheming, money hungry entities that only look out for themselves. After realizing that he may not be correct in the way he formed his opinion, he decided to research and look at the scientific data. His initial belief was that GMO’s required more pesticide and insecticide, however, he realized that because many GMO’s such as pest-resistance cotton and maize actually require little to no pesticide. He realized that most of his arguments had no basis and he once he realized the facts, he changed his opinion drastically. Once he changed his opinion, he was then able to argue with facts instead of baseless statements. His current position is what I believe to be correct. GMO’s are essential in developing countries. GMO’s allow small farmers to create bigger yields with a small input and help feed rural villages. Without GMO’s, many under-developed countries would struggle to feed their community members.
New High-Technology for Agriculture
If you want to understand how agriculture works today, you need to learn about the technologies they are using. Where we go for this trip is Hoober company, they have all kinds of equipment using for agriculture, the variety of tractors, combines, drone, sprayers. Humans create technology and somehow they rely on it because technology brings much convenient and easy life for us. Since some of the farmlands are huge, drones give a big help. They can fly all over farm fields. Instead of walking through the field and check in person, we can check the health of crops through the phone. The most impressive tractor in my mind is the one with the sprayer on both sides. The sprayers are birds’ wings set on both sides of the tractor. These tractors are huge and modern looking. The Tractors can be set for an automatic drive. Very easy for us to use. Each of them cost 100,000 dollars, which is a lot of money to invest. However, it may save money for farmers for rest of life, since there will be fewer labors and time are required.
Hoobers Inc Field Trip Experience
The picute above is my classmates and myself on one of the tractors we were able to opperate
Being able to understand todays agriculture and how we get our food from farms to markets is an unbelieveable experience. The technology we have today, helps us further agriculture along with being able to feed over seven billion people! One of the main ways that agriculture has become easier for farmers is GPS systems. WIth this power farmers are able to use drones to scope out either the issues that are in their crop so they can make adjustments for the next set of crops. While at Hoobers we got the opportunity to see two different drones. One of the drones had the power to fly over an hour and has differnt cameras to show drout in crops! The other drone was able to fly for about thirty minutes but was able to fly by the users phone. The technologyg used today is not only invested in drones; tractors have the capibility to have automatic stearing and can be positioned by satalites to keep in a very precise line and cause little to no errors with the spacing in the crops!Technology is beyong incredibe and will continue to grow and imrpove the world around us.
Hoobers Visit
During our trips to Hoober’s Inc. many new things came to my knowledge about the use of precision agriculture in our country. When talking to the gentlemen who worked their, they were able to give us a tour of the shop where most repairs occur. Within the shop their are specific people who work on specific things, such as guys who may only focus on combines, where another guy may focus on just only tires. Also we were able to view the use of a drone, which was pretty amazing. The drone itself allows farmers to view their fields in just minutes, helping them before, during, and after the season. It allows farmers to diagnose problems as well as fix them. Finally the best part of the trip in my opinion was the experience of driving the tractor. Never driving one before really opened my eyes on the use and how a tractor could be so useful. I could really picture a future in this line of work