This post is a little long, so if you want to skip the first part feel free!
It's another tuesday here at EARTH U and it's another research day for me. Although I didn't have work I woke up at 5:30 out of habit and went to the dining hall for some breakfast. Gallo pinto (rice beans, cilantro, and other things) and bread again! I never really had big breakfasts before I went to school when I was in New Jersey so this is a welcome change to my routine.
As some of you may know, graduation day is here for all Freehold Regional High School District students. All of my friends, whether they're in Howell, Township, or Boro, are in school practicing to walk the stage, trying on their caps and gowns, and saying a few last goodbyes. I wish I could be there with you guys, my last day at school wasn't really much of a last day. It felt like another friday afternoon, with the exception of crying at the end of the day in ag class.
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| Pin the tail on the turkey during our Thanksgiving Feast |
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| Anna, Jenny, Laura, and Chip |
To be honest, I'm probably going to miss the Animal and Botanical Sciences Academy the most. When I first entered this program I didn't have any clue what would happen to me in the future. All I knew was that I was happy to be in my own place where I felt I belonged. Once I started to get involved FFA that's when I really began to bond with this program. I made some great friends and made a countless amount of good memories. Through the ag program at FTHS I grew as a person. I was pushed out of my comfort zone. As an FFA member, and especially as an officer, I had to speak in front of people regularly, present myself in a professional manner, educate others about agriculture, stand up for what I believe in, and compete in several competitions. Some of my favorite memories in FFA include getting 4th place in the Vet Tech CDE with Sydney Gavinelli (who placed 3rd!), studying for the Envirothon on the bus with Amanda Cannizzo and Gina, Every state convention, Nationals, and all the fun times we had in my ag class. I am so proud of how much this program has advanced. The other graduating FFA officers and I know that we're leaving the chapter in good hands.
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| Sydney (aka next year's president c:) and I on my last day |
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| Last year's post banquet Jersey Freeze |
My senior class was awesome. We've done things like play duck duck goose, do bonding activities from that rubric we had every time Ducey was absent, eat a lot of food (whenever we could come up with an excuse), killed a lot of fish (not our fault), lost the rabbits a few times (we got them back, don't worry), we remember the hot tub, we all attended Guatam and Gina's arranged marriage with Mr Cutchin, and we've always been a very...interesting group. Whether it's yelling "JOHN!!1!!" or asking "Where's Chip?" you guys always made me laugh. I'm kinda sad that I have to write about our class in past tense, but our time is over and we are all moving on to better things. Michaela and I are moving to the midwest (Only 2 more months Michaela!!!!), Rebecca and Kat are going to Del Val, a lot of you are going to Seton Hall, some of you are going to Brookdale for a few years, and no matter where you go you're all going to be amazing.
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| Rebecca and I |
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| Nikki and I at prom |
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| Gina being pushed, I mean walked, down the aisle |
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| The happy groom |
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| Senior holiday party |
As a wise man once said, "Come on. Be extraordinary."
Without this ag program I wouldn't have even known about the Global Youth Institute. I wouldn't be here in Costa Rica doing this research and working with animals like I've always wanted to. It's funny how a small admissions essay to enter an academy at the public high school in the next town over brought me to Indianapolis, Des Moines, and Costa Rica. I am so thankful for this opportunity. The reality of graduation still hasn't hit me and it's probably easier to avoid it when you're 2 time zones away but I'll definitely feel it later tonight when I look at the smiling pictures of all of you guys in your caps and gowns. I'm definitely happy that I'm a part of the Freehold Township Class of 2014. We aren't at are peak yet, these past 4 years have been fun, but it's time for us all to move on into the real world.
In the words of JK Rowling," Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
Ok enough reminiscing, time to focus on the future.
Today I really started to look into my research.
On the breeding/ genetics front I've began to make a template for the dairy cow profiles. Now I believe I have explained the preferred traits that we're looking for in the dairy cattle at EARTH but I just want to give you guys a better idea of what we've got and what we'd like using some visual aides that I'll be using throughout my internship.
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The biggest trait that we need to fix in our herd is deep udder depth. In a lot of our cows you can see that they have deep udders. This is a bad trait because cows are constantly kicking their own udders, their udders get dirty, they get saggy, and they're more prone to mastitis and other infections. We want the intermediate udder depth because you'll still get a good amount of milk.
So we want this trait, how are we going to breed that trait into our herd? Well, here at EARTH we breed our cows using AI or Artificial Insemination. We don't use any of our bulls because we try to keep the dairy cattle traits within the bloodline. We order mostly Holstein and some Jersey semen from websites such as ABS Global.
Now, onto the grazing system! I was a little hesitant about this project but Profe Moro made me realize how important this system is to not only animal welfare but also to farmers. The system separates the land into several small plots where animals will graze. I think I explained that part before. i don't think I've explained the connection between my welfare project and this system so I'll do that quickly. This system is an important part of my welfare project because a good farm usually lets their animals graze. In latin america and other farms around the world cattle are often put into the fields to graze freely. This is a bad practice that occurs around the world. Farmers give the animals the full run of the land. The animals eat all of the grass and there isn't enough time for new grass to grow, the soil loses some nutrients, and the animals won't be able to eat nutrient rich grass. Most subsistence farmers only have a small plot of land they can work with so this project ruins them. The rotation that we do in our grazing system allows us to most cattle to a different section so that we can plant new grass and let it have enough time to grow. On our system we've reserved a plot of land to grow crops. This allows farmers to have another source of income to rely on just in case their cattle die or if they're too thin to go to market. There's an article about it here!
I'm starting to come up with more factors for the welfare assessment including adding in calf health, vocalizations, foot health, amount of time milked, teat and udder health, and I'll probably add a few more factors as I go along.
As I was typing some of this up in the library I decided to go to lunch. When I went into the lobby, all of the lights were off and nobody was there. I assumed that Costa Rica was playing (plus there was a sign on the door saying that along with a little cartoon of the Costa Rican futbol team) so when I tried to push the door to get out of the library I wasn't too surprised when I realized I was locked in. Well, I shouldn't say that. I was a little surprised considering the library staff passed by me several times before the game and some even waved at me. I don't know how they forgot that I was there, I might've been too quiet. Anyway, I was let out by a nice lady and walked over to the lunch room. Whenever Costa Rica is playing the cafeteria staff goes all out and has a banquet. There's red, white, and blue table cloths, over banquet tables, everyone's smiling, and the room was filled with Costa Rica futbol jerseys. It's always cool to see an ocean of red and blue in addition to the occasional chant of "OEE OE OE OEEE TICOSSS TICOSSS!"
After lunch I went to the gaming center to play some pool and watch Colombia kick Japan's butt. It's fun to play pool with Lina especially. Lina's a pool shark! We hung out in Paula and Marianna's room before we went to dinner. Marianna said that she and Paula were going to go to a meringue class, so I thought why not try it?
We went immediately after dinner and let me tell you, I have never been more intimidated by dancing before. Everyone was doing spins, tricky footwork, and I was just trying not to step on any feet. We rotated partners between each song which was helpful when one guy was too advanced for me. Eventually I got the general idea and I think it went over pretty well. Once the class was over we went back to the gaming center and played some more pool. I'm starting to get back in the swing of things when it comes to pool.
Well, another early start tomorrow! Goodnight guys!
-Allie
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