Animal Science: Gestation Crates

A gestation crate is a pen where the sow is held away from other pigs during pregnancy. The pen is usually 2 foot by 7 foot. This allows for individualized attention and an area free of the close quarters of the general housing area. The farrowing crate is a two pen system where the sow is on one side of bars and the piglets on another. This is so the mother doesn’t accidentally step or roll on the young, and so the farmer can assist in the births, as well as heat/cool each area separately (Allan Schinckel, n.d.). The pens allow for the pigs to move forward and back a few inches, but not turn around. They are also big enough for the sows to lay down. Pork producers say the pens provide security for the sows and produce “bigger litters, heavier piglets and reduced workforce costs” (Jackson & Marx, 2016). The industry says that if the sows are placed together in communal settings they will fight for food and establish a hierarchy where the weakest may not eat at all. If they are in the crates, they say research shows that “feed can be precisely calibrated to the pig's stage in her life cycle, and workers can easily track the well-being of individuals” (Jackson & Marx, 2016).

Animal Science: Food For Everyone

There are a few ways we could work out feeding 9 billion people. Some of it comes down to what we are eating, some to how much, and the rest to our moral and ethical stances on items like medications and Sustainability. The first issue is what we are eating. Most sources list ‘meat’ as beef, veal, pig, poultry, sheep, and goats. They do not take into account other protein sources, such as seafood, buffalo, camel, alligator, kangaroo, or rodents like beaver, Guinea pigs, or rabbits. If we included these and other ‘non-standard’ meat sources we could increase the availability of meats to specific regions where they are already consumed, such as the Guinea Pig in South America or the Camel in the Middle East. Other alternative meats include insects. “Insects are not harmful to eat, quite the contrary. They are nutritious, they have a lot of protein and are considered a delicacy in many countries,” said Eva Muller, the Director of FAO’s Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division (Welsh, 2013).  Of course, Asia and Africa have a long standing tradition of utilizing insects, but most Westerners still cringe just thinking about it.

Animal Science: Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch

I was able to attend an amazing tour at the Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch. After learning about alpacas we were given a tour of the ranch that included opportunities to feed, pet, and take photos.

Agricultural Science: Argentinian Meat Industry

Argentina. The country conjures images of rancheros on horseback herding cattle across sweeping grasslands, but Argentina means something quite different to the American Pork Industry. For the last few years’ excessive tariffs (15%) on local beef production dropped Argentina from the third largest beef producer, to the tenth (Schuele, 2016). This change meant that the local population was eating more beef and minimal imported meat products such as chicken and pork.

AP Computer Science Principles: Syllabus and Timing

One of the classes I taught this past year was Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles. The format of the class was more college-level than high school and I believe that if done correctly, the students can get a lot out of it. I decided to post my syllabus and timing sheet so that any other teachers or parents can run through the course as well. You will notice that I use a lot of outside sources (crash course, bbc, cs4fn, csunplugged, etc.), these are great stand alone or in sequence opportunities for anyone interested in CS or someone who just wants to understand what John Oliver is ranting about.

I'm going to take off the contact info for my school, but I'll leave all the other non-fun bits of the syllabus in case a teacher wants to grab them. I'm all about sharing resources, so if you see something you like on my teaching pages, feel free to grab it.

MSc Experiment concept #1: Aquaponics

Initial Concept:

Aquaponics based farming practices for rural villages. Vegetable based pellet feed for Tilapia to increase nutrients in meat.

Purpose:

To identify ways of increasing nutrient intake in the populace via small-scale, sustainable agricultural practices.

Agricultural and Animal Sciences: Cattle Bedding Techniques and A.I. Rates

There are a different cattle bedding formats: deep-bedded sheds, where the straw is built up each day and then the bedding is removed after a certain timeline (1 week, 1 month, etc), free-stalls, where there is a shed set up for each cow/calf and the bedding is removed each day, and tie-stalls, which literally chain the animal in place. There are also calf sheds and bull sheds to keep them separate. It really depends on what the size of the herd is and the format the farm uses. A small farm might house the cows and calves together due to space issues. In almost all of the farm formats though bulls are kept separately because they are aggressive. "Stock Bulls are dangerous, bulls were responsible for 59% of fatalities caused by animals from 2000 to 2010 according to a recent HSA report" (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). As for rates, it depends, one study showed in Ireland infertility rates around “25% of all working bulls are sub-fertile or infertile (10%** are infertile)” (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). Veterinary manuals show A.I. rates between “50%–60% …[on the] first service, the same percentage on second service” (Statham, n.d.).

**Objective comparison of artificial insemination and the stock bull in Irish dairy herds - Donagh Berry*, Andrew Cromie†, Sean Coughlan† & Pat Dillon** Teagasc Moorepark, †The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation April 2005.

References

A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef). (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Progressive Genetics: http://www.progressivegenetics.ie/Blog/Post-Detail/Beef-A-Stock-Bull-vs-Artificial-Insemination

Statham, J. (n.d.). Breeding in Cattle Reproduction. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Merck Manual Veterinary Manual: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/management-of-reproduction-cattle/breeding-in-cattle-reproduction