A2B-lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 8, 1996
‘ Hands-On * Approach
Of Delaware Valley
(Continued from Pago A 24)
the whole thing leading up to the
Farm Show.
“It’s a recognition of their hard
work. You have to really put a lot
of work into it”
The Pennsylvania Dairymen’s
Association matched the Farm
Show premium, bringing the total
winnings up to about $450 a
substantial honor, according to
Gross.
But the coursework is not all
show. Each student, including
those not enrolled in agricultural
studies, is required to complete an
employment program, which
involves spending 960 hours in job
directly related to the major.
For dairy science freshmen,
according to Gross, students are
exposed to alt aspects of raising
livestock, including horses, sheep,
swine, poultry, beef, and dairy
cattle. In the second semester, they
learn the principles of dairy sci
ence and are exposed to an over
view of the dairy industry, includ
ing preparing an animal for
showing.
“They observe milking, they
observe the operation of the dairy
and how feeding's done, and are
presented with a general overview
to bring everybody up to the same
levels,” said Gross.
They believe that ‘Mom and Dad’s done it
like this and you have to diplomatically
explain to them that maybe that’s not the
best way, or here’s another alternative .'
Sophomores leant selection of
cattle and complete studies on
genetics. They are instructed in
how to evaluate and judge cattle.
Juniors and seniors are intro
duced to the business aspects of
running a dairy, including feed,
breeding, and overall business
management. A term paper exa
mines all aspects of running a dairy
business.
At that time, the students “have
been exposed to all aspects of the
dairy industry,'* said Gross.
‘They’ve been exposed to the
marketing of animals, they put up a
mock sale in which they have to
come up with a sales catalogue,
and they have to put an ad in the
catalogue for their animals. They
learn how to work up an ad. They
learn all aspects of taking good
pictures.
“We try to expose them to as
much practical education as we
can in all aspects of the dairy
industry.”
For those who come from a
Herdsman Shane Betz readies the equipment at OVC for
milking.
farm, ”we sometimes have heated
discussions on how things should
be done. But hopefully we end up
every day getting a little bit from it
Sometimes some of the things we
do here we do just as an education
al tool to show them what good or
bad can come of doing
something.”
That practical, hands-on advan
tage "tends to stick with them
much more,” he said.
“We have not gotten to the
point of saying, ‘You do this, and
this and this will happen. There’re
still genetics involved. And even
though you can come up to 95 per
cent reliability, there’s still that 5
percent.... You may find that
you’ve covered all the aspects and
left one thing out, and that’s going
to affect the herd.”
Gross said that while they give
all the cows the best advantage in
feeding, breeding, and manage
ment, the dairy industry ”is still a
combination of science and art.”
Some students have never been
on a dairy farm in their life and
decide they want to be part of the
industry.
That’s how Gross came to dairy
farming. He was raised in the city
of Pittsburgh and worked on a farm
for a dairyman during the summer
of his junioryear in high school. At
the time, he wasn’t certain whether
he wanted to be a dairy farmer or
an agricultural engineer.
“In Pittsburgh, all the high
schools were geared toward your
becoming an engineer, with all the
steel industry (that's back when
the steel industry was running
strong), so I decided I'd like to
pursue a career in agriculture.’’
A DVC graduate, when Gross
made the decision in 1973 to stay
in the dairy industry, there were 68
cows milking with a stanchion
bam. There were three breeds
Holstcins, Brown Swiss, and
Ayrshires.
Improvement of the herd is key
to rounding out the education of
the dairy science majors.
“We’re constantly trying to
breed to the better bulls, use TMR,
and made a couple more improve
ments,” said Gross. The milk pro
duction has been rising the last six
months. For bedding, die dairy has
been using peanut hulls, which ate
becoming more difficult to obtain.
Brings Employment For Graduates
College’s Dairy Science Program
Students not only are In charge of showing and fitting the animals, but also main
tain the display at the Farm Show. The exhibit, featuring the. pedigree boards and
keeping the area clean and open, netted the college the overall Housekeeping Award
the past few years, according to Gross, pictured here.
For those who com> jte the program ai >gi jatfe, jyment opportunities
abound, according to the college. Here, Mike Marshall, freshman, is hard at work.
Work on the frccstalls will include
the installation, this summer, of
rubber-filled mattresses.
Feed is combination of high “And we have a different set of
moisture shelled com, alfalfa hayl- criteria than most farmers we
age, com stingy and a clover- believe that we have to represent
timothy hay. the breeds to the general public, so
“We’re trying to improve our we’re trying to strive for the type
milk and protein levels, at the same animal with production.** Gross
time decreasing a little bit of our indicated that many farmers can
fat,” said Grass. But the oonstant focus in on production and now
Mr*. Leckey’s first grade class from Abington Friends toured the Delaware Valley
College in April.
challenge is to “balance between
production and type.
have to worry constantly about the
“look" of the cow.
But graduates admit their work
pays off.
Said Chris Bcadiing, the col
lege’s director of public relations,
“Every alumnus I talk to seems so
grateful to DVC for the education
he or she received that helped to
get that foot in the door.”