On October 17, Our AGRI-130 class has two very nice ladies Mrs Wooten and Mrs Budischak came in and give a lecture on the green Industry and the diffrent types of jobs you can acquire from working in that field. Also they mentioned that you never know what you are going to be getting into when you are looking for jobs. You may want to be one thing and later on down the road you find out that you want to be something completely different. Also what surprised me the most was how much revenue was in the mark of green agriculture. And that it bring in so much money in the state. From there lecture it help broaden my knowledge on the green Industry and how everything you do can involve the green Industry in one way or another.
Tag Archives: Lecture
Guest Lecture: Mark Davis – Horse racing industy
Mark Davis’ guest lecture to our class about the horse racing industry in Delaware was very interesting and informative. He gave us a lot of information about the economics and history of horse racing. I was previously unaware that the first equine racetrack in Delaware was built in Newark in the 1760’s. Horse racing was also the second most popular sport behind baseball until about 1989! We learned about the big difference between thoroughbreds and and harness horses in the racing industry. Harness horses can race much more frequently than thoroughbreds, because their bodies are able to handle it. From an economic stand point, horse racing brings in over $180 million yearly. dollars and creates over 1,500 jobs. Horse racing in Delaware is now highly dependent on casinos, which have been introduced at racetracks and bring in many patrons. Overall, this guest lecture was extremely interesting and informative. I am a fan of horse racing and was glad to learn more about it.
GMOS- Dave Mayonado
Dave Mayonado’s lecture was absolutely my favorite this semester, and probably one of my favorite speakers I’ve ever been able to see. I am absolutely intrigued by GMO’s, not only about what they are and how they are developed, but by the public’s perception of them and how easy it is to influence people to think one way or the other. With a major in American Politics, seeing people develop an opinion and never listen to others, is something I see everyday. GMO’s is such a controversial topic, and to see people hear the actual facts about them but still believe that they are dangerous and whatnot is very interesting. Growing up in such a small town that was dominated by agriculture, it is very cool to see GMO’s help small time farmers succeed and profit. GMO’s are safer than I thought and allow more underdeveloped countries to help feed their communities with higher yields and less money going in to keeping a plant alive. I hope that I can continue learning about GMO’s and keeping up to date about new technologies developed.
Delaware’s Green Industry
On Monday Tracy Wootten and Valann Budischak gave a guest lecture on Delaware’s green industry. They had an abundance of knowledge on the industry and were very passionate about it. In 2014 the horticultural product sales were $21,774,000. The green industry encompasses producers, retailers, landscapers, golf courses, suppliers, equipment, etc. We learned about the species native to Delaware and how through modifying species, non-native crops can be grown here as well. It was very interesting to learn how specialized most landscapers are because of how many services fall under landscaping. They also taught us more about the Master Gardener Club, which is a group of people, mainly retired, who are interested in gardening and receive free training from the university, to go help people who have questions about their gardens. It was amazing to see how big the green industry is in Delaware.
Mark Lynas at the 2013 Oxford Conference towards GMO’s
Mark Lynas has done a total 180 on how he views the importance of GMO’s. One of the first things he says as he starts his speech is ” I want to start with some apologies which I believe are most appropriate to this audience. For the record, here and upfront I would like to apologize for having spent several years ripping up GM crops… starve the anti-GM movement back in the 90’s… demonizing an important technological option which can and should be used to benefit the environment.” Lynas completely regrets the counterproductive path he has chosen and he regrets it entirely. He discovered science and the importance of GM’s for today’s uprising population. When he first heard about GM’s he thought that it was just a “big AMERICAN corporation with a nasty track record putting something new and experimental into our food supply.” With me being a former vegan and only wanting to eat some of the most pristine vegetables I too was afraid of GMO’s and if they would damage my body. Over time throughout several hours of research and my Agriculture class that I am currently taking through the University of Delaware, my professor has enlightened me on how much he GMO’s have impacted the world! I am a strong supporter of GMO usage in today’s crops. Without them, we would not be able to feed today’s population along with our aminals to get other products from. In the rest of the Lynas’s speech, he explains how with the GMO’s can help the world and should be approved all around.
Mr. Ed Kee Guest Lecture
I was recently fortunate enough to hear two guest lectures from Mr. Ed Kee. His first lecture taught us students about Delaware Ag and its importance to the food shed. Mr. Kee spoke about many things including that Delaware is located within 8 hours of 1/3 of the population, which puts Delaware at a high advantage even with its small size. Delaware also has 115,000 of land being preserved so it will stay farmland forever; this will allow many businesses to stay in business for many years to come. The agriculture industry has $6-$7 billion dollars of economic activity in Delaware which makes it a large commodity for Delaware as well as the Eastern United States. Mr. Kees second lecture explained Iowa and California Agriculture. I found this lecture very interesting because it put more into perspective about farming in the United States and helped me compare Delawares agriculture practices to those in other states. Iowa has great soil because of the moisture it can hold and its fertility. California agriculture is all about water and farmers grow crops to gain the most profit relative to what they pay for water. After listening to both lectures from Mr. Kee I feel I’ve gained an abundance of knowledge about not only Delaware agriculture but Iowa and California agriculture and thank him very much for sharing his wealth of knowledge with us students.