2018-2019 Agriculture, Tech, & Natural Resources Newsletter

Agriculture, Technology and Natural Resources PROGRAM UPDATE In This Issue »» Field Trip »» Student Projects »» Collaborations »» Ag Club Events »» Grants Awarded »» Upcoming Events

2018 - 2019

CHS/Cenex Field Trip On October 16th, 43 of the BSC Ag Club students attended a three day field trip to CHS headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. Trip included visit to the Cathedral of Saint Paul, the Mall of America, CHS headquarters in Inver Grove Heights, and a new headquarters building of the Land O Lakes at Arden Hills, MN. At the CHS Headquarters BSC Ag Club students were welcomed by the CHS CEO Jay Debertin. Students had opportunity to interact with the CHS CEO, listen to his presentation and get a valuable career advice. CHS headquarters visit also featured agronomy, energy and committee market analysis presentations by CHS professionals.

The Land O Lakes headquarter visit included a new building tour, managerial welcome and presentations on company’s profile, technology/products, marketing and communications by Land O Lakes experts.

Overall, CHS/Cenex field trip provided a fun and exceptionally educational event for BSC Ag Club student members.

Student Projects Project Based Learning in AGRI 276 Data Collection and Management Project-based learning is an instructional approach designed to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world. AGRI 276 (Data Collection and Management) culminates with a project, as do several other courses in our program.

In AGRI 276, taught by Carmel Miller, students are to utilize a field on their own farm or a field that they worked with during their internship last summer. The project centered focused on a “question” or “issue” they wish to explore about the field.

Some examples of questions were “Has the Saline area of my field gotten larger over the years and how can I correct it”; “Could the area that has previously been a slough, be a productive part of the field”; “Why does a certain area of my field yield less and can I change it”; and “Is there enough variability in my field to create management zones?”.

The students were able to use the knowledge they had gained in various GIS software and cloud based platforms, such as Trimble, SMS Advanced, Satshot, Surety, Web Soil Survey, FieldX and FieldView in order to add boundary, digital soil maps, field records and satellite imagery to their projects.

Part of the project involved research about their field and about the question they asked. They were to get the cropping history and any other historical events that may have affected the field. Their question may have involved talking to an agronomist or other expert.

Publications and research articles were also useful tools to help answer their questions.

Finally, the students summarized what they had learned by developing a poster which was used in a presentation during final’s week. They will be able to present the poster at the “Friends and Neighbors” event sponsored by the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory this coming February.

Soil sample analysis conducted in SOIL 210 Introduction to Soils As a component of their Soil 210 laboratory class, taught by Marko Davinic, BSC ATNR students were required to analyze soils samples that they have collected from their farmland or gardens. Data compiled from all of the 62 analyzed soils (from across the North Dakota) has generated an average pH value of 7.0. When asked by their instructor “what does that mean” students replied that “on average, soils in North Dakota are just perfect”

Doing the “dirty work” in VETS 239 Animal Health Brown Stomach worms (Ostertagia ostertagi) were studied by students taking fecal samples of calves coming into a feedlot backgrounding situation. In VETS 239 Animal Health, taught by Chuckie Heim, students learned the “facts” about the most common cattle parasite, the life cycle, and sampled fecal material similar to vet clinics to observe worm eggs under the microscope. Students learned about deworming protocols.

Almost all cattle have internal parasites, but the “load” or infestation varies with geography, climate, and pasture conditions. At least 85% of cattle in the United States are infected by brown stomach worms.

Specifics on the Brown Stomach Worm:

»» Most common worm »» Interferes with digestion »» Lives in abomasum »» Gastric glands damaged when adult worms emerge »» Calves age 7-15 months affected the worst »» Causes loss of appetite and weight, diarrhea, rough

Brown stomach worm under the microscope

Advantages of injectable dewormers:

hair coat and bottle jaw

»» Can hibernate up to 6 months in gastric glands Recommendations for deworming calves: Reducing pasture contamination is important. Deworm cattle before they enter the pasture. Injectable dewormers are highly recommended for calves.

Collaborations BSC Ag students join DSU Ag students for Soil Health Workshop BSC Students in the “Introduction to Soil Science” course attended a Soil Health Workshop on September 12 at the Dickinson Research Extension Center (DREC) in Manning ND. The workshop was sponsored by the DREC, Dickinson State University, Dakota West RC & D and Dakota Prairies RC &D. The morning session included topics such as soil microbial processes, cover crop usage, biological soil analysis reports and DREC integrated system’s research. In the afternoon, students applied their knowledge by visiting various stations to learn how to assess soil heath in the field. At each station, students learned about different soil health indicators to evaluate physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.

»» Better dosage control for optimum product performance

»» Efficacy is not weather dependent »» More effective on worms in various stages of life cycle

Collaborations BSC Agricultural Advisory Committee Agriculture is ever changing. This is good. At the beginning of the 19th century there was around 1 billion humans. Today there is of 7.5 billion. Agriculture has met the food demand of this population increase. Most population estimates predict an increase of 2- 3 billion humans before population growth stops. Agriculture will need to feed these humans. As markets develop, the human population will demand not just more food, but a larger assortment of cheap, safe food. Agriculture has changed to meet past food demands and will continue to change to meet future demands.

If agriculture is changing then agricultural curriculum must follow. To assist in this change of curriculum, faculty and industry professionals meet twice a year at BSC to discuss current agricultural trends, emerging technology, and to review curriculum. These industry professionals comprise the BSC Agricultural Advisory Committee.

Professionals come from all areas of agricultural industry: agronomy, agriculture sales, precision agriculture, agriculture business, lending, livestock production, and crop production. This year the committee is reviewing curriculum from four classes at BSC. The feedback of industry and professionals will continue to help provide BSC students with the newest information in the agriculture industry.

Soil Health Summit: Regenerating Soil with Diversity On November 7th and 8th, 2018 BSC hosted a Burleigh County Soil Conservation District’s Soil Health Summit. This two day event gathered an amazing group of farmers and research scientists, which delivered presentations on various soil health topics. BSC students in attendance had an opportunity to hear talks by Dr. Dwayne Beck (Dakota Lakes Research Farm and South Dakota State University), Dr. Jonathan Lundgren (South Dakota farmer and entomologist) and Dr. Kris Nichols (Pennsylvania microbiologist). The special luncheon speaker was Ken Miller, the recipient of the 2017 North Dakota Leopold Conservation Award, award that honors North Dakota landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.

Ag Club Events BSC Ag Club Halloween Dance On November 1st 2018, BSC Ag Club organized a 2nd Annual BSC Halloween Dance. This popular event attracted BSC students from various departments and provided a fun and relaxing atmosphere for all in attendance. Besides dancing, students got to taste amazing BBQ pork sandwiches (curtesy of Dicks Barbecue� Mandan) and participate at Halloween costume competition where six of the top costumes received various BSC Mystics merchandise and apparels.

Ag Club Events BSC Ag Club Movie Night “Dirt” Premiere On September 27th BSC Ag Club brought to the BSC campus the first public presentation of the movie “Dirt!”.

Directed by filmmakers Gene Rosow and Bill Benenson and narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, the film explores the relationship between humans and soil, including its necessity for human life and impacts by society.

Dirt! The Movie was an official selection for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and won several awards, including the best documentary award at the 2009 Visions/Voices Environmental Film Festival and the “Best film for our future” award at the 2009 Mendocino Film Festival.

This free showing took place at the BSC NECE Auditorium and included free refreshments that were served prior to the movie premiere. This event was attended

by BSC students, as well as BSC faculty/staff and several prominent members of the community.

Grants Awarded Perkins Act Funds New Equipment

CHS Foundation Coop Education Grant

2018-2019 Agronomy Incentive Partner Funds

Under the Perkins Act, federal funds are made available to help provide vocational-technical education programs and services. Typically these funds are used to purchase equipment for vo-tech programs. This year the ATNR department was awarded $30,000 for the purchase of a John Deere Gator, equipped with the new 4640 display, Starfire 600 receiver and auto-guidance technology.

BSC ATNR program was awarded a 2018 CHS Foundation Cooperative Education grant in the amount of $6,000.00 for the development of five online learning modules on cooperatives.

Each of the BSC Agronomy Incentive Partners provide an annual pledge of $5,000 to support and sustain the ATNR program. The partners include United Agronomy, Dakota Frontier Coop, Wilbur-Ellis and Dakota Agronomy Partners.

Students will utilize the new equipment in the Precision Agriculture Classes where they will get “hands on” experience operating the new display with auto-guidance capabilities.

The Gator will also be equipped with a Wintex 1000 soil probe for utilization in Soil Science, as well as Precision Ag classes for georeferenced soil sampling by conventional, management zone or grid sampling methods.

These online modules include general information on cooperatives as well as information that is not available in the most of cooperative or ag business management text books (for example the necessity for active participation in cooperative organizations (and The “Who Does What?”), promoting effective communication in cooperative organization setting, and performance requirements in a cooperative setting).

Long term goal of these cooperative modules is to increase the awareness of the importance of cooperatives among BSC Ag students. A “Cooperative” unit will be included in AGEC 141 (Agribusiness Management) course, and all five online modules will be available to assist in teaching this business course.

This year the BSC faculty will use the funds for various tools that will enhance the interest of high school students in Agriculture careers and the BSC ATNR program. For example, these funds will support the Spring Ag Academy, National Agriculture Day and our program Open House. Also, a 16’ trailer will be purchased and designed as a traveling plant and soils lab to be used during high school visits and other agriculture events.

Upcoming Events Guest Speaker Jolene Brown Jolene Brown, an award winning speaker and consultant for family owned business, will be a guest speaker for the BSC Farm and Ranch students and their families February 21st.

Jolene will present “If We Huff and Puff Will We Blow Our House Down?” Attendees of the conference will leave with time tested tools that help them manage, lead and transition the family business.

Farming For The Bottom Line BSC ATNR Department will be hosting the 5th annual ‘Farming & Ranching for the Bottom Line’ conference on February 26th/27th at the BSC National Energy Center. Event will be organized by the Area 4 Research Farm, NDSU, BSC ATNR, and USDA. This event will attract over 400 farmers, students and agronomists. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Temple Grandin, Mark Schatzker (writer of the “The Dorito Effect”) and Greg Judy (writer of the “Comeback Farms”).

The BSC Ag Club members will introduce speakers and assist in setting up and advertising this event. The BSC Ag Club students will also host the “BSC Ag Club Poster Showcase” that will feature agriculture related research and observations. Poster showcase will include over $2500 in prizes and awards.

National Ag Day On March 19th 2019, BSC Ag Club will host events on campus in observation of National Ag Day. The Ag Day events will include showing of the “The Living Soil” movie, hosting an agricultural quiz show, music and live coverage by Myx radio and Mystic Media. Event will also include a continuation of “Art with Ag” activity and free ice cream at Mystic Marketplace for all in attendance.

Bookmark this date and come celebrate Ag Day with us.

2019 Summer Internships The 2019 internship season will begin April 8th. This year we have 21 AIT and Ag Business students from all areas of North Dakota. The focus for this group of students will be setting and achieving goals. Each student will set at least three specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and time-targeted internship goals. The expectations will be to set a plan of action and outline a way to evaluate if and when they have attained their goal.

Spring Ag Academy The 2nd Annual BSC Spring Ag Academy will be held on April 30th. This special event is offered exclusively to FFA students and their advisors. During the Spring Ag Academy students will get to experience what it is like to be an Agriculture student at BSC. Students will choose what courses they attend during the academy and dine in the student union, just like college! Students can also register to win a $500 BSC scholarship. FFA advisors will have the opportunity to attend a professional development class. Please save the date and spread the word to your FFA advisor and student!

ATNR Program Hosts Open House Please consider encouraging your high school juniors and seniors to attend the ATNR Open House on March 19th from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Career Academy on the Bismarck State College campus. At the open house, students will be able to meet faculty and staff involved in the programs and ask questions about courses and employment opportunities, visit with representatives from BSC’s admissions department, and apply for fall classes.

If you are interested in having individual or a group of students attend the open house or want to arrange for a visit on an alternate date, please contact Kasey Janz at 701-224-2439 or by email kasey.janz@ndus.edu.

Check out the other Program Visit Days below:

PROGRAM VISIT DAYS Are you insterested in a specific BSC program or department?

Get direct access to classrooms, faculty and behind-the-scenes program information on our Program Visit Days!

Pre-Science Programs - Friday, February 8 Transfer Programs - Monday, February 11 Fine Arts & Humanities - Tuesday, February 12 Technical Center Day - Tuesday, February 19 Computers & Office Technology Open House - Wednesday, February 20

DISCOVER

T H E N E X T VE R S I ON

O F YO U

Transfer Programs - Monday, February 25 Agriculture, Technology & Natural Resources Program Open House Tuesday, March 19 Energy Open House - Tuesday, March 19 Graphic Design (AM) & Mass Communications (PM) - Friday, March 22 Health Sciences Open House - Tuesday, March 26 Electronics/Telecommunications - Friday, April 5 Geomatics, Engineering & Mathematics - Thursday, April 18

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For more information, contact one of our advisors.

LINDSEY NOVAK

TYLER SCHAU

Agriculture, Industry and Technology

Agribusiness and Farm and Ranch

224-2628

224-2542

bismarckstate.edu CRT-009-0219