Past, Present, and Future of Agriculture

In a world that is always changing it is hard to get adapted for it, especially to farmers.  The reason that agriculture is always changing is because companies are trying to come out with new technology that improves yield, saves money, and limit our inputs in the field.  I love getting to talk to my grandpa and see what it was like when he first started farming back in 1960.  It is so cool to be able to listen to how it was back then compared to now and what it will be like in the future.

Farming in the Past

I was able to interview my grandpa, Ross Edward Hannant, about what it was like to farm in the 1960’s and it is totally different from the way people do it now.  He said that one of the biggest changes is the farm size.  According to him the average farm size might be 120-160 acres.  He also added that having a farm back then it was much more diverse as in crops and livestock.  He said that he planted corn, soybeans and wheat as crops and for livestock he had sheep, cows, hogs, and chickens.  One saying that stuck with me was “you didn’t want to have all of your eggs in one basket, so if one crop failed you would have another crop to fall back on.”

My grandpa says that another big change that he can see is in yield.  I asked what was the average yield when he first started and he said that 70 bushel/acre of corn was a good crop. For beans he said it was more like 30 bushel/acre.  He also added that the input cost was a lot less.  When he first started he did not use any fertilizer besides manure from the livestock. There was not really any big fertilizer plants back then.  He said there was one FS plant that might cover four counties.   A bag of seed corn would only cost 100 dollars and would be able to plant three to four acres.

As for chemicals back in the 1960’s there was not a whole lot that was sprayed on.  He said that the only chemicals he really used was atrazine.  The main way they controlled weeds was by row cultivating, this was running a cultivator down the rows of corn when the corn came up to control the weeds.  Farmers would do this usually three times a year.  The main pest to control in the fields back then was giant foxtail and milkweed.

Equipment wise has also been a huge change.  When my grandpa first started he said that on the farm he had two tractors.  He had a four row planter and he said that a six row planter was big if anyone had one of them.  For his first harvester it was a pull behind, not self propelled.  Back then he also picked corn whole; it was not shelled from the ear.  He would also feed most of his corn to his hogs and cattle.  So his income each year might be from a different commodity from selling his cattle or selling his corn.

Farming in the Present

In todays world the average farm size is more along the lines of 1500-2000 acres.  It is not near as diverse today as it was in the past.  Most farmers today only have row crops or livestock.  There are not a whole lot of farmers that focus on both.  A lot of the acres that are farmed are not even owned by the farmer.  Much of the land is cash rented now.

The yield of crops has increases significantly if a farmer does not have a yield over 200 bushel/acre of corn they are not very happy today.  If their beans don’t make 60-70 bushel/acre it is the same scenario.  Their input cost are a lot more today as well.  The average bag of seed corn today might cost anywhere from $250 a bag to $350.  The population of corn that we plant today is a lot higher as well.  Today fertilizers are a huge input cost as well.

Photo Credit: Riesterer & Schnell

Equipment is also a huge change.  My grandpa cash rents his farm out now and he said he would have never imagened a 24 row planter being pulled with a 400 horse power tractor across his fields.  Most farmers today have many different tractors for different reasons as well. Combines have improved a lot as well using a 8-12 row head that can run through the field at five to six miles per hour.  Today they can harvest all my grandpas farm in one day compared to the past where it might take a month or longer to get all the crops out.

Farming in the Future

It is hard to tell what the future holds for agriculture.  It is all changing so fast.  The population is getting bigger and bigger, with this farmers are going to have to produce more crops with the same amount of farm land.  The yields that we could see in the future might be unheard of such as 400 bushel/acre corn or 150 bushel/acre beans.  If we keep coming up with newer and better technology, we might be able to sit at home in our chairs and be able to plant a 500 acre field in one day by controlling it with a remote.

Bio:

My name is Kendal Hannant, and I am a senior, my major is in Agriculture Business.  My home town is Perry, Illinois I graduated at Griggsville-Perry High School in 2015.  I attended John Wood Community College for two years, then transferred to Western Illinois University and will graduate in Spring of 2019.  I grew up on a small row crop farm owned by my family and I have worked for many local farmers around our area.  I love to go hunting, fishing and hanging out with my friends.

Photo Credit:  Twidwell, Sarah

 

 

Robotic Milkers: Worth the Cost?

Growing up on a dairy farm you face many struggles that occur with making decisions on how to advance the farm. One of the difficult decisions my family has had to face is whether to incorporate technology into our farm. This technology includes robotic milkers, also known as voluntary milking systems, and automatic calf feeders. Most farmers focus on the profitability of the milk which they sell, making the robotic milkers a very compelling investment due to labor cost, the increased yield of milk per cow, and time it takes to switch different pens of cattle. With milk prices being at a low, how can the farmer justify spending so much money on a robotic milker. Is the investment truly worth the expense?

Source: DeLaval VMS V300

According to Midwest Dairy, “There are approximately 9.31 million dairy cows in the United States. The average herd size is 187 cows.” The cost of a robotic milker is between 150,000 and 200,000 dollars for 50 to 70 head of cattle. This means a farm with the average herd size would be spending a little over half a million dollars to completely transition a farm to robotic milkers.  For most farmers this would be a major expense especially with the current milk prices and to many others this cost isn’t even feasible.

The key benefit to putting in a robotic system is that cows typically produce 5 pounds more milk a day in a robotic milker than in a parlor. With that being said the cows are also less likely to get infections in their udders as well as less stressed due to the voluntary rotation of the robotic system. The ability to have less labor intensive milking would make the production cost lower.  Robotic milkers also have other expenses that make them a costly investment.

The expenses of transitioning into a robotic milking system would be the initial investment of the process. These systems can be bought from companies such as DeLaval, Lely, and AMS Galaxy. With that being said these systems quickly depreciate as each cow enters the stations. As well as the robotics would need regular upkeep to keep the system running all day long.  Typically these systems have to be maintained by the company that  the system is produced by causing the repair prices to be slightly more expensive then most would think.

Currently the dairy industry is declining; farms are consolidating or selling out. For most farmers it is a better option to stick with their typical parlor systems than to make the large investment in the robotic milker systems. Even though the technology would be a great investment when milk prices are more profitable at this time the investment is too much for the average dairy farm in the US to justify.

 

Sources: 

“DeLaval VMS™ V300.” DeLaval VMS™ V300 – DeLaval, http://www.delaval.com/en-us/our-solutions/milking/robotic-milking/delaval-vms/delaval-vms-v300/.

Master, Web. “Dairy in the Midwest.” Midwest Dairy, http://www.midwestdairy.com/farm-life/dairy-in-the-midwest/.

 

 

About me: Hello my name is Shelby Brenner from Hopkins, Michigan. I am a Senior at Western Illinois University. I will be graduating May of 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Business with a dual minor in Animal Science and Agronomy. I am a part of the WIU Sigma Alpha, Hoof n’ Horn, Agribusiness club, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and Agriculture Council. After graduation I plan on furthering my education in plant breeding.

 

 

Educating Ag Outsiders

Until about three years ago I considered myself an Ag outsider. By that, I mean somebody who has little to no knowledge of how anything regarding agriculture functions, or how it benefits our society as a whole. My family background is not typical of someone studying agriculture. In my experience, nine times out of ten somebody who is studying agriculture has some family background and experience in the field. So, coming from a family that is predominantly involved with emergency services and working in public service, I went on a completely different path.

Currently, I find myself one semester away from a degree in Agricultural Science. Now, after almost 4 years of education in soil sciences, conservation, and business, I can confidently say I am an Ag insider. With this in consideration, I find myself thoroughly enjoying the education and experience I can bring to others about the study of agriculture.

For the past two years, I have worked with the United States Department of Agriculture, in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as an intern during the summers and winters. The NRCS works in conjunction with the local Soil Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) to provide education and outreach programs to the general public.

Just recently, myself and two other group members helped to coordinate a farm tour at the Allison Organic Farm. This farm is managed by Dr. Gruver, who helped to hold the tour itself. The point of the tour was to educate people without a farming background on organic farming practices, and the basics of agriculture. Everyone who attended was from various backgrounds. In fact, a good majority of those attending were my fraternity brothers. It was a very humbling experience to be able to give this educational experience to those men who are so close to me, and to everyone who attended.

Dr. Joel Gruver at the organic farm tour                                  Photo credit: Crystal Luo

 

In the future, I would love to speak in more urban areas (such as the Quad Cities) to younger kids in the area about agriculture. I feel this would be an excellent opportunity to bring this information to a younger generation that wouldn’t normally have this information at their disposal.

 About me: My name is Cole Harris, and I am a senior at Western Illinois University.  I am majoring in Agricultural Science, with a minor in Business. I am from Rock Island, IL (Quad City Area). In the very near future, I plan to be working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or on the Rock Island Arsenal in the contracting division.

 

Aggie Alum Strong

Whether you attended Western Illinois University as an agricultural student in the 70’s or you are a recent college graduate, everyone can agree that the aggie alum bond holds strong at WIU. Aggie alums can often be found at campus events, career fairs, and speaking events on campus. They’re always encouraging the next generation to follow their footsteps in agriculture at WIU.

Every semester WIU hosts an Ag Open House for perspective students to come visit the farm, meet professors, and listen to speakers. At this falls open house Ryan Ricketts, a western Illinois territory manager for Pioneer, a 2014 WIU School of Agriculture graduate, and a 2016 WIU Masters of Business Administration graduate, spoke to potential students about his time as a leatherneck and his love for WIU. Western gave Ryan the opportunity to be a student-athlete and get the degree and job he wanted. In closing, Ryan says, “I hope every student has the chance to have a great college experience like I did. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my years and friendships at WIU”, Ryan enjoys getting back to Western, sharing his experiences and bringing light to the things that helped him succeed through college and beyond. He is a great example of a WIU aggie alum.

Last spring I had the pleasure of meeting another great WIU alum at the Spring 2018 Ag Open House. Terry Kestner, a 1984 graduate of the agricultural program. Terry serves on the Advisory Board for the School of Agriculture and is the Vice President – Chief Appraiser at Rabo AgriFinance. From the start, Terry was kind and supportive when hearing my plans for after finishing college. The following summer I had a great opportunity to intern at Rabo AgriFinance, were Terry went out of his way to make sure I felt welcomed. Terry’s love for Western and his commitment to WIU students is what helps make the WIU School of Agriculture so successful.

Ryan and Terry are great examples of the alum support and network that WIU offers. While I was searching for a university to attend for my last two years of undergrad, there where no other schools that could compare to the alum network that WIU has to offer. I look forward to becoming an aggie alum this spring, and giving back to Western like Ryan and Terry have.

About Me: Hello, my name is Whitney Thomson. I’m a senior at Western Illinois University majoring in Agricultural Business with minors in Pre MBA and Marketing. This May I will be finishing my undergrad. Following graduation I plan to start my Masters of Business Administration here at Western. I currently serve as President of WIU Women in Business, and our Agribusiness Club here on campus. I believe in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and promote all facets of agriculture, large and small.

Agriculture is Service

I pledge my hands to larger Service

Living to Serve

Strive for achievement in scholarship, leadership, and Service

To Make Better Men and through them a broader and Better Agriculture

From a young age service is one of the backbones of the rural community. 4-H empowers youth with the skills to lead for a lifetime through volunteerism. Almost 6 million youth have the strength and influence to improve their community, country, and world around them by pledging themselves to larger service. In the National FFA Organization over 8,500 chapters live to serve by making a positive impact in their school districts and community. By providing a path to achievement in premier leadership, personal growth, and career success the members of the FFA live the motto learning to do, doing to learn, learning to live, living to serve.

 

In college many agricultural women join the Sigma Alpha Sorority who are dedicated to spreading the positive word of agriculture and building bridges between producers and consumers through achievements in scholarship, leadership, and service. At Western Illinois University (WIU) the women of Sigma Alpha work with the Farm Bureau presenting Agriculture in the Classroom lessons as well as teddy bears for tots where they donate teddy bears to children in need. Myself and many other agricultural men have joined Alpha Gamma Rho a social professional agricultural fraternity that makes better men and through them a broader and better agriculture. At WIU the Alpha Gamma Rho Chapter raises over $20,000 a year for the community through our annual smoking hog, pancake breakfast, and golf outing.

The agricultural community at WIU raises over $30,000 for local charities and organizations through service and philanthropy and works over 8000 hours through philanthropic events. Mr. Carson Bloomberg, president of Alpha Gamma Rho said “it is an honor to be involved in an agricultural organization and a school that cares so much about giving back to the community, the brothers of Alpha Gamma Rho work hard every year to make our school and community a better place by helping others.”

The members of Alpha Gamma Rho would like to cordially invite you to our 26th Annual Smoking Hog on Saturday, October 27th, from 11:00AM – 5:00PM with concert to follow at the Alpha Gamma Rho House at 1010 North Lafayette St. Macomb, IL 61455. Tickets are $5 in advanced or $7 at the door with proceeds benefiting the McDonough County VIBE.

My name is Kye Witek, I am from Steward, Illinois, where I help in my family’s grain farm. I am currently a senior at Western Illinois University, where I am involved in Alpha Gamma Rho, Ag Business Club, Collegiate Farm Bureau, Inter-fraternity Council, and the Union Advisory Board. I have been involved in 4-H and FFA in high school and believe the future of agriculture is strong with the lessons and teachings learned in these organizations.

 

River Valley Cooperative: Aiding Farmers to Success

 

Headquartered in Davenport, IA, River Valley Cooperative is a member-owned, Midwest based organization with 26 locations that stretch from up north in Ryan, IA, down south to Edelstein, IL. With its parent company, Walcott Elevator, dating all the way back to 1906, River Valley Cooperative was formed in 1996 with the merger of the Walcott Farmers Elevator, Stockton Farmers Coop, and the Eldridge Cooperative Company. For 22 years, River Valley Coop has worked in conjunction and efficiently with its communities.

“From one season to the next, River Valley Cooperative is there for member-owners and the communities we call home. More than just another supplier, we’re neighbors invested in the success of local agriculture.” – River Valley Cooperative

Agronomy, Energy, Grain, and Feed. These are the four departments within the organization that help aid farmers to success, and are highly important in the agricultural industry. Whether a farmer needs help with crop production, precision ag,

Photo by River Valley Cooperative from http://www.rivervalleycoop.com

fuel, feed, chemical and nutrient application services, or grain market navigation, River Valley Cooperative has experts in each field to help fulfill the necessities of their customers. With a motto of “Boots On the Ground Year Round,” River Valley Cooperative takes pride in their service, and is with farmers and their operations every step of the way.

Agronomy is River Valley Cooperative’s biggest department. From seed and chemical sales, to custom application, this is where River Valley Coop does the best with their market. There are many different types of seed out there to plant, but the seed that River Valley Coop sells is Dekalb, Asgrow, and Croplan. For forage, they sell large amounts of Alfalfa, Rye, Timothy, and Clover. Recently, River Valley Coop has built a new seed storage shed in Annawan, IL to expand away from their seed and chemical shared shed with WinField United. Along with seed sales, chemical sales is something they exceed at too. You name it, they sell it. There are tons and tons of different chemicals out there, but the most common ones that would be sold form their

Photo taken by Me

chemical shed is Round-Up, Dicamba, 2/4D, Atrazine, and Warrant Ultra. Along with chemical sales comes custom application. River Valley Cooperative highly experienced, professional applicators that drive sprayers, and terra-gators. With that being said, farmers have the ability to use River Valley Cooperative’s applicators to apply chemicals, fungicide, and fertilizer to their fields. The combination of seed and chemical sales, along with custom application, results in most business that River Valley Coop obtains.

Grain is another department that is considerably large within River Valley Cooperative’s organization. They help to manage corn and soybean transportation, and allow farmers to store their crop at their local elevators. River Valley Coop has a total of 14 elevator locations that have a total storage space of 27 million bushels. There are two grain elevators that also tie in with the feed

Photo taken by River Valley Cooperative, from http://www.rivervalleycoop.com

department, and those locations are Galva, IL, and Sundbury, IA. These two locations that have elevators that are tied in with feed mills can utilize 25,000 bushels of corn per day. The Feed and Grain departments work in conjunction together to get feed sold and shipped. The feed mills at River Valley Cooperative produce a total amount of about 1,700 tons of feed per day, and they use about 10 million bushels of corn per year. Having feed mills with this size and capacity is important for the farmers in the areas who are livestock producers, because they the ability to get feed made and delivered to them from the local plants.

The Energy side of River Valley Cooperative has been around for many years. They provide propane for homes and commercial energy, and the types of energy that they provide are lubricants, propane, and refined fuels in eastern Iowa, and western Illinois. For people looking to have propane for their home needs, River Valley Cooperative can lease/sell propane tanks to customers, offer competitive pricing options, and you can also sign up for an auto-delivery option. There is also a 24-hour propane emergency hotline through River Valley Coop and that number is (563)-357-0816.

Photo taken by me

I was fortunate enough to have spent the past two summers with River Valley Cooperative as an Agronomy Sales Intern in Osco, IL. Along with the information that I have gathered throughout my time as an undergraduate agriculture student, River Valley Cooperative allowed me to gain a vast amount of hands-on experience and knowledge. I was able to get an up close and personal look at what it is like to work in the agricultural retail industry. I attended meetings, sponsored county fairs, made cold calls, managed projects, scouted fields, managed farm accounts, and worked with customers on a daily basis. All of the interns that were employed with River Valley Coop would also go on tours to other locations within the company. In doing so, we were able to see every department location and get an understanding of how each department operates. Doing these tasks allowed me to increase my knowledge, become a better salesman, and also helped me understand what it takes to work as a team with a farmer to do what’s best for their operation. I was also blessed with a great supervisor who always helped me out along the way. My supervisor answered every question I ever had, was always pushing me to increase my knowledge, and helped me to become confident in my agricultural sales ability. I feel extremely honored to have been given the opportunity to spend the past two summers with River Valley Cooperative, and to have also been offered a full-time job with them as an Agronomy Account Manager when I finish school in May. I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for an internship while in school to look into River Valley Cooperative. River Valley Coop is filled with top notch employees that treat everyone with the up most respect, and it is a great way to get yourself out into all aspect of the agricultural industry. I would also recommend to any farmer to look into doing business with River Valley Coop because of how well they treat their customers, and because of the fact that River Valley Coop is a “whole farm package” agricultural retail company with so much to offer to farmers.

So if you’re a farmer and looking for help to decide what’s best for your operation, look toward River Valley Cooperative. River Valley Coop is a member-owned organization that has been around for 22 years. They have highly skilled professionals in each of their four departments (agronomy, grain, feed, and energy), and have a vast amount of products, pricing, and other whole farm offers that will guide you and your operation to success.

For more information on River Valley Cooperative, visit their website.

Photo taken by me

 

Jordan Mielke

Western Illinois University: Macomb, IL

Major: Agricultural Science

Hometown: Geneseo, IL

Lake Geode Watershed Project

Lake Geode, located outside of Burlington, IA, has always been known for its sport fishery and family friendly operation. In recent years the water quality has declined drastically. The lake is currently listed on the 303d impaired waters list due to high concentration of E. coli bacteria and high pH levels. Due to this happening, project partners have put forth hours, days, even months of work toward improving the water quality. Starting in 2010, work has been conducted to the land above the watershed to try and decrease the amount of pollution thats leaking down into the lake. Landowners who live within the watershed have been implementing several different conservation practices to reduce soil erosion and runoff from their land. The Lake Geode Watershed Coordinator, Caleb Waters, has been working around the clock to see change happening as well. This past year Caleb and the project partners have begun an extensive lake restoration project. Have you ever seen a dump truck load of sediment? How about 11,000 dump trucks?! The project will be removing 200,000 cubic yards of sediment, which is comparable to those 11,000 dump trucks. They are removing the sediment from the upper end of the lake. While they are removing a lot of the sediment, they will be using some to create large “Fish Islands.” These “Islands” will provide a good habitat for the fish once the lake is refilled. They will also be armoring eroded shorelines, and creating an in-lake silt dam. In order to remove the sediment and create this habitat, they had to completely drain the 174 acre lake. It took approximately 30 days to drain. The project partners had previously created a few different ponds in the Lake Geode Watershed, those ponds now house some of the aquatic life that was once in the lake.

Thanks to the low amount of rainfall throughout this past summer, the contractors were able to remove about one third of the sediment. There were several groups from schools, as well as local volunteers who have come forth to help clean trash and what not from the lake bottoms. While Caleb has been very focused on the current progress of the lake itself, he has also been busy meeting with landowners to help with their conservation practices such as terraces, waterways, ponds, cover crops, no-till, and strip-till practices. He has spent time traveling to local fairs, schools, and other community events to talk about Lake Geode and the watershed project, the progress, answering any questions or concerns about what is happening, and educating young students about the importance of a watershed and how their actions can affect the lake.

A group of individuals called “Friends of Geode” are also working tireless hours to raise money to restore the old concession building on the beach of the lake. They hope to raise enough money to redo the building as well as purchase new equipment to rent out to families who are visiting the lake. They hope to have kayaks, paddleboat, and other water toys in stock. There are several fundraising events and opportunities for this specific project.

Due to the higher amounts of rainfall we have had in the past few weeks, the construction has started to slow; the contractors have assured everyone that they do still remain ahead of schedule. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources hopes to have the project completed by the Spring of 2019, dependent on the weather. Once the project is finished the lake will refill naturally with rain water and once full, will be restocked with fish. The park itself is also closed currently due to renovations throughout the camp ground. The camp ground project will include new drive-through camp pads and updated breaker boxes. There is also new bathrooms/ shower houses.

“The Lake Geode Watershed Project has been a major consumer of my life, the smallest forward movement has a huge impact on my positive attitude! Once the lake is refilled and stocked I can say that I have served a huge purpose in my life. I was made to do this,” – Caleb Waters, Lake Geode Watershed Coordinator.

For any more information or updates on the water shed project you can follow the “Lake Geode Watershed Project” or “Geode State Park, IA” on Facebook. You can also contact the Lake Geode Watershed Project Coordinator, Caleb Waters, at (319)753-6221 EXT. 3968.

 

Antibiotics: The Great Debate

Antibiotics have long been viewed as abused in the livestock industry. While some farmers have used antibiotics as growth promoters, others use them solely for the purpose intended, to help treat a sick animal.

Penicillin is one of the most popular antibiotics and many others are derived from it. David Kessler stated in his article, “Antibiotics and the Meat We Eat,” that when Alexander Fleming accepted his Nobel Peace prize for his discovery of penicillin, he warned that, “there is the danger that [ignorant men] may easily under dose himself and by exposing his microbes to nonlethal quantities of the drug may make [the bacteria] resistant.” Many studies support this statement, however, it appears many people didn’t concede to this belief.

There have been many actions put into place to try to stop the further development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. One of these actions is the FDA veterinary feed directive. This directive states that for any farmer to use an antibiotic in feed or water, they must obtain a prescription from their veterinarian. This regulation went into effect on January 1st, 2017, and has shown to be effective. However, this doesn’t mean it’s the end. Confinement farms may try to use these directives as a “blanket” to treat all of the animals instead of the specific ones that are ill.

Another effort to reduce antibiotics is closer monitoring of the animals’ health. When animals start to become ill, the rumen digestion decreases and the immune system drops. There is a new technology that can monitor the rumen by keeping records of how the cattle ruminate. This system, called SenseTime, is created by Allflex, in collaboration with SCR Dairy, and is an electronic monitoring system that collects data about the rumination on a dairy cow to watch for any signs of problems. The dairy cow either wears it as a collar or an ear tag like the dairy cow is wearing in the following picture.

The ear tag is what tracks the vitals and rumination. The picture was taken from Stackyard.com.

If the cow starts to fall off and show signs of distress, the farmer is notified and the cow can be treated prior to overt clinical disease. The use of these systems can reduce the amount of antibiotics used by earlier recognition of disease to provide other treatment options, such as probiotics, to help counter the disease and build up the immune system.

Dr. Emily Gibb, from Roseville Veterinary Services, states that, “antibiotics are a very important tool in veterinary medicine. When used correctly under supervision of a veterinarian, appropriate dosages, routes, and frequencies can protect the production system and keep our food supply safe, while producing at the lowest possible impact on antibiotic resistance.”

When an antibiotic is used, the animal is given the prescribed amount that the veterinarian recommends and this antibiotic must be given fully and completely to the animal to be effective. Once the antibiotic is fully used, the animal must go through a withdrawal period before the animal is taken to market. This withdrawal period allows the antibiotic to leave the system of the animal to a point where the meat is safe for human consumption. There may be antibiotics in your meat, but don’t be fooled believing it is bad for us. Extensive testing protocols are in place to ensure the amounts of antibiotics left after a withdrawal period are so faint that they won’t do any harm if we do consume them and have little to no effect on the development of antibiotic resistance.

The use of antibiotics in the livestock industry is a hot topic. However, very few of the drugs used in the livestock industry have ties to human medicine. In addition, the amounts of antibiotics used in each industry are different. Instead, one may take a closer look at the human health care industry to ensure that patients take antibiotics as prescribed by their doctor to decrease the chances of antibiotic resistance.

This photo is a representation of the antibiotic comparison in animals versus humans. This photo was obtained from the Beef Checkoff.

While the use of antibiotics may need to be more limited within the agricultural industry, the regulations that have been initiated are a start to controlling the overall use. Further regulations may need to be implemented also within human health care and both industries need to work together to more effectively control antibiotic resistance.

Sources:

Kessler, David. “Antibiotics and the Meat We Eat.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Sep. 2018.

About the Author

Hello! My name is Cassidy Tarter and I am a senior here at Western Illinois University. I’m from Canton, IL, and I will be graduating in May 2019 with a degree in Agricultural Science and a minor in Chemistry with hopes of attending veterinary school. Here at WIU, I’m involved in Sigma Alpha Professional Ag Sorority, Hoof N Horn Club, and Collegiate Farm Bureau. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope you enjoyed it!

I’m Not A Farm Kid, But

I’m not a farm kid. I didn’t grow up getting up at 3am to go check cattle in the freezing cold or spend 14 hours uninterrupted in a grain truck or tractor. No riding in the tractor for hours with dad, having random conversation that turned into memories that many of my fellow students would come to cherish. I never got to walk the fields with grandpa, where he pointed out problems in the crops or with the livestock and explained what was wrong. I didn’t get to learn the ropes or have any of those experiences when I was young.

Knowing next to nothing about how a farm operates, you can imagine I was nervous coming in to Western as an Agriculture Science major. Most of the students I interacted with in the first week of being at WIU were all from farm backgrounds. They understood topics that went completely over my head, topics that I had to go home and google later to understand for the next lecture. Slowly but surely, I started to pick up on those things that came so easily to my classmates. I had gained many amazing friends in the department that helped me to understand what was going on in my classes. They would stay after class and explain things or come over if we had a homework assignment to make sure I understood what I was doing.

The best part about being an Ag major with no agriculture background at Western is that everyone is so willing to help you and teach you. As a first semester freshman, I was enrolled in the Principles of Crop Science class, which just gave a basic overview of crops, cropping systems, and nutrient and pest management. When I started the class, I knew next to nothing about any of what we talked about. On the second day of class, we went out to the field lab and looked at all of the crops we had talked about the previous day. For me, this was a new experience even though to most people in my class it was just another day. Being in this class was what sparked my passion for crop science.

My fall semester of sophomore year, I took my first livestock class. The only livestock experience I had was with poultry, so cattle, sheep, and pigs were a whole new world. I was nervous on my first day of lab, watching the experienced kids go right for the lead ropes of cattle or catch a sheep on the first try. I can tell you right now, it took me multiple tries to catch a sheep. I had an experienced livestock judger giving me tips on how to effectively catch a sheep and when I finally got one, we both celebrated. I had no prior experience, but by the end of the lab I was catching sheep like a pro, because of the willingness of my peers to help me learn.

Overall, being from a non agriculture background as an Ag major is not as scary as I thought. Everyone at WIU is so willing to help you when you’re struggling in class or lab. All of your professors want you to succeed, they are not there to trip you up. They want to give you those amazing experiences. Learning hands on is just as important as learning in the classroom to our professors. My parents are another key reason I am here at WIU, they always tell me they believe in me and that I can do it, even though I didn’t have the background knowledge coming in. My dad and mom both always tell me, “Whatever happens, I am proud of everything you do”. Having a support system at home and school was a key to my success.

So, if you’re considering being an Ag major, but are apprehensive because you do not have an agriculture background, I say go for it. At WIU, you will have a whole herd of people backing you up, teaching you, and celebrating your successes with you. It may be scary at first, but it will all be worth it in the end.

 

 

Hello all! My name is Claudia Bland and I am from a small town called Hudson, about 15 minutes north of Bloomington Normal, IL. I am currently a junior at Western Illinois University studying Agriculture Science with minors in Plant Breeding and Agronomy. I am very involved on campus, within and outside the School of Agriculture. I am in five organizations within the School of including Agriculture Council, Sigma Alpha Professional Agricultural Sorority, Collegiate Farm Bureau, Agronomy Club, and the AgVocator Recruitment Team. Outside of the School of Ag, I am a member of the Marching Leathernecks, playing the trumpet. I was not raised on a farm, but I have gotten a few opportunities to learn before I came to college and after attending WIU thus far, I have a very well rounded knowledge of the farm sector and I have found my passion for agronomy here. Thank you for taking time to read my blog and I hope you enjoyed it!

All photos are my own!

 

 

Journey to Ag: From Chicago to WIU

I grew up in the South Side of Chicago and my whole childhood I only knew that milk comes from cows and the vegetables and fruits that we eat are plants. I never truly understood what part of the plant these things came from or even where the cows for the milk were kept, all I really cared about was that they were there ready to eat and drink. This is a problem that all city people face everyday. If you as an agriculture person were to go ask someone in Chicago if they knew where their vegetables were grown or where those eggs were produced they will all simply say either the store or some farm if you are lucky.

It wasn’t until I started high school that I began to get a better understanding on how agriculture works. I went to the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences(CHSAS). Here I received my first taste of what agriculture truly meant. I received hands on learning from Ag finance, horticulture, food science to animal science, and so much more. Being from the city whenever people would ask me about my high school they would be amazed that something like that even existed. The people who did know about it would just say “Oh that farm school.” I could honestly say that my experience there opened my eyes to how important agriculture is for our everyday lives.

 Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences

“So why agriculture?” the question I hear every time someone asks me what I’m studying. The answer is I started off wanting to be a veterinarian but as I continued my studies here at Western Illinois University I began to take soil science and horticulture and I began to build this interest on how agriculture works. I never knew there was so much work that had to be put into growing and farming crops or even raising animals. I realized that I loved animals but veterinary medicine wasn’t for me. I also hated the fact that everything that I thought I knew about agriculture was only the tip of the iceberg.

(Students from left to right: Aurora Gomez, Tabitha Lundy, Pierce Cruz, Javier Guerrero)Students check on the cattle at the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences on October 6, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois -(Oct. 5, 2011 – Source: Scott Olson/Getty Images North America)Enter a caption

This is an issue that I personally think needs to be addressed due to the fact that many city people are not aware of real agricultural practices and will just believe everything that they see on the media. People need to be aware on how much agriculture has advanced and that not everything is going to kill you. Just because a product has “USDA Approved” written on it doesn’t mean that all other products weren’t approved as well.  That’s the problem here. More and more people are starting to believe what they hear instead of actually doing their research so instead of them being fully aware on what they are eating they just go ahead and follow whatever trend is in now.

I was fortunate enough to have had the chance to go to CHSAS and learn about these things and their importance but for all of those other kids that literally have all of this technology in their hands but don’t use it properly they need to be educated in these issues. I feel like more schools should have agriculture studies so that more and more people could get educated on the daily issues of agriculture rather than just assuming the worst. Today most people would claim that farmers are evil and they are the ones harming the environment or they are harming the animals but as mentioned before they all believe what social media says.

(Students left to right: Brittany Staib, Abigail Catania, Aurora Gomez, Demi Gentry, Rachel Milonas, Stephani Massole, Blanca Escutia) Juniors from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences gather with
Scout, one of six horses in the school’s growing animal science program

Western Illinois University has been my home away from home and the agriculture community here has been really kind to me. They were the ones that have inspired me to continue in this career pathway and to promote the education and knowledge of agriculture to everyone I meet. Even the ones that don’t what to hear it I still spew what I know and want them to know as well to them. Everyone who is in the agriculture business deserves a round of applause because they make it look easy but they know the hard work and dedication it takes to be successful.

About Me

Hi, my name is Aurora Gomez. I am currently a Senior At Western Illinois University. I am majoring in Agriculture Science and will be graduating this December of 2018. I am from Chicago Illinois and I did not have the opportunity to grow up on a farm but I did study on one for four years during high school. This is where my interest in agriculture first started. Since then I have learned a lot about agriculture and hope to learn more in the future.