This past week has been full of farm visits and lots of other hands-on activities where I have expanded my understanding of agriculture in exciting new ways!
I started out last week by attending an equine pasture walk in Harford county. We had the pleasure of touring Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding and learning more about their mud management, pasture grazing, and composting procedures. Seeing the techniques the farm has implemented, while also hearing discussion on areas for improvement, gave me valuable insight and knowledge.
Later in the week, I had the opportunity to attend three farms with my mentor, Amanda, and co-intern, Rylee. The first two farms were dealing with unwanted plants in their pastures. During these visits I enjoyed learning specifically about the practices these farms used and what products they were raising. With limited prior knowledge in pasture management or forage identification, I gained a lot from these visits. I began learning various plant names, ways to identify them, and proper grazing practices. The third farm we visited was previously crop ground and had recently been converted into grazing pastures for beef cattle. We toured the farm and assessed the current state of the pastures and identified ways to promote continued healthy growth.
A major component of my internship this summer is assisting with a co-grazing pasture study involving sheep and cattle. I am responsible for their daily care, including checking water and minerals and watching for signs of behavioral or health changes. Aside from daily care, I also help with collecting bi-weekly samples and health data such as weights and body condition scores to use in the study. This week, I also helped manage the cedar tree population in our pasture to help prevent future risk of fire and keep our pastures healthy.
Another highlight of my week was attending a meeting of local dairy farmers alongside my mentor Jeff. We toured Clear Spring Creamery's pastures and listened in on a discussion of pasture management and grazing techniques. Listening to the group discuss the benefits and challenges of practices that they have and have not used was inspiring. The group challenged each other to improve all aspects of their businesses for themselves, their animals, and the public. After the meeting had concluded, I was able to assist in collecting samples at the farm for a study analyzing mineral levels in forbs to promote diversity in pasture grazing. I had a lot of fun throughout the day touring the farm and learning how to identify more plant species.
In my first two weeks I have already learned so much! My background is primarily in beef cattle and ornamental plants from my time showing and competing in 4H and FFA, so this experience in dairy systems and forages is exciting. While my livestock experience is useful in my daily care and maintenance of animals, I’m realizing there is much to learn.
My biggest goal during this internship is to broaden my horizons and deepen my knowledge across all areas of agriculture! I’m excited to continue growing my skills and applying what I learn in new and meaningful ways.
I started out last week by attending an equine pasture walk in Harford county. We had the pleasure of touring Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding and learning more about their mud management, pasture grazing, and composting procedures. Seeing the techniques the farm has implemented, while also hearing discussion on areas for improvement, gave me valuable insight and knowledge.
Later in the week, I had the opportunity to attend three farms with my mentor, Amanda, and co-intern, Rylee. The first two farms were dealing with unwanted plants in their pastures. During these visits I enjoyed learning specifically about the practices these farms used and what products they were raising. With limited prior knowledge in pasture management or forage identification, I gained a lot from these visits. I began learning various plant names, ways to identify them, and proper grazing practices. The third farm we visited was previously crop ground and had recently been converted into grazing pastures for beef cattle. We toured the farm and assessed the current state of the pastures and identified ways to promote continued healthy growth.
A major component of my internship this summer is assisting with a co-grazing pasture study involving sheep and cattle. I am responsible for their daily care, including checking water and minerals and watching for signs of behavioral or health changes. Aside from daily care, I also help with collecting bi-weekly samples and health data such as weights and body condition scores to use in the study. This week, I also helped manage the cedar tree population in our pasture to help prevent future risk of fire and keep our pastures healthy.
Another highlight of my week was attending a meeting of local dairy farmers alongside my mentor Jeff. We toured Clear Spring Creamery's pastures and listened in on a discussion of pasture management and grazing techniques. Listening to the group discuss the benefits and challenges of practices that they have and have not used was inspiring. The group challenged each other to improve all aspects of their businesses for themselves, their animals, and the public. After the meeting had concluded, I was able to assist in collecting samples at the farm for a study analyzing mineral levels in forbs to promote diversity in pasture grazing. I had a lot of fun throughout the day touring the farm and learning how to identify more plant species.
In my first two weeks I have already learned so much! My background is primarily in beef cattle and ornamental plants from my time showing and competing in 4H and FFA, so this experience in dairy systems and forages is exciting. While my livestock experience is useful in my daily care and maintenance of animals, I’m realizing there is much to learn.
My biggest goal during this internship is to broaden my horizons and deepen my knowledge across all areas of agriculture! I’m excited to continue growing my skills and applying what I learn in new and meaningful ways.
Here is a photo of part of the herd of Jersey cows at Clear Spring Creamery. They were so friendly and came right up to us while we were doing our pasture walk.
I have had so much fun getting to know my co-intern, Rylee! We spend most of our days together working on projects and helping our mentors. In this picture we had just finished attending our IACUC training.
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