Hayride at agriculture Farm

It was really interesting day today. Early morning class for agricultural communication was really great. We went for hay riding. It was so fun. One hour passed out like a five minutes. Lots of information’s and interesting facts were shared by expertise of agricultural.

We all get together around 7:45 am at Arkansas State University agricultural farm lab, and we waited for Dr. Pitcock. As, Dr. Pitcock arrives her introduce us to different persons who are taking care of the animals and farms.

Firstly, we went to petty zoo, where we find several animals, which we use, in our daily life. Rabbit, Sheep, goat, rosters, donkey, bull, etc were found at petty zoo. As, we completed visiting the petty zoo, and then Dr. Pitcock offer us for the hayride. Big tractor, and long trailer with hay…. And agricultural communication class in the trailer… wow! What an experience.

Mike Johnson was the in charge of the hayride. He did a brilliant job showing around the agricultural farm and providing the information. Despite some of the bad smell from the breeding place of pigs, we really enjoyed.

When I had a hay ride I remember back to my home. We usually have a hay ride on the back of cart and the cart is pulled by ox. I recall those moment and feel happy. Director of Farm Mr. Johnson shows the old chicken house which is now class and bio-energy lab. He told us that those classes were recently build.

After riding few minutes, we came near to the pigs breeding center. As, I knew it by smell from a miles distance. We saw some huge pigs and very nasty too. It was really good. Then after few distance we came to sheep breeding center. Wow! Sheep andLamb I love those.When we came to the back of the petty zoo I saw the several trees. I came to know that those trees were grown to know the impact on the crops. So, does the certain type of tree is helpful for agriculture or not? So, it is a kind of research done by the department of agriculture.

Likewise, we keep on moving to the different places there was floriculture room too. Beautiful flowers and early morning weather, I love it. Likewise we move on towards to the equacenter where we can find plenty of horses. According to Mike Johnson every week more than thousand of people come to this center to see the different horses. And evey they buy and sell their horses. A price of good horses costs around $1000 dollar.

So, after the ride we all get some new experiences and some more knowledge. I really appreciate Dr. Fears and Dr. Pitcock for this opportunity to learn some thing new.

Some Information about Mike Johnson and Agricultural lab

"Mike Johnson has worked at the ASU farm for the past 28 years - the last 7 years as Farm Director. The main ASU farm (off Aggie Road) consists of 230 acres and employs seven full-time and two part-time workers. They spend most of their time caring for the livestock on the farm which includes 65 Black Angus cows, 45 calves, 3 Black Angus bulls, 55 Yorkshire-Hampshire cross sows, 2 Yorkshire boars, several litters of pigs, and a total of 65 Hamp cross sheep and Hair sheep. The cattle graze on a 300 day rotation to help cut down on hay cost. To help defray feed costs, the farm cuts and bales on average 400 round and 2500 square bales every year of pure Bermuda grass. Their irrigation system enables them to harvest four to five cuttings per year.

Approximately 12 to 15 of the farm’s sows have pigs every month. A feed study is currently being conducted on the pigs ranging from 40 pounds to 250 pound. The farm’s sheep are raised for wool and meat production. Throughout the school year, Animal Science classes receive hands-on experience by vaccinating the animals. But livestock isn’t all the farm has to offer. The land that borders Stadium Boulevard contains plots of corn, soybeans, and milo for Plant Science research. In addition, the ASU Horticulture program has a Display Garden across from the Petting Zoo barn.

Across from the Equine Center on East Johnson, there is 26 acres housing 14 Quarter horses. Another 50 acres called the Gipson farm is located off Highway 351 which grazes 24 Black Angus pairs (cows with calves). There is also a farm at Walcott, Arkansas, consisting of a total of 520 acres. 380 acres is precision leveled for ease of irrigation and produces row crops: corn, soybeans, and rice.

The ASU farm helps the environment and cuts down fuel cost by producing their own fuel using soybeans produced on the farm. They produce biofuel at a rate of 50 gallons per 24 hours."

------------- Source Arkansas State University, Agriculture Farm