Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and Sunnyside
Farms have partnered to expose students to a variety of skills needed and
careers available in agriculture.
The
newly launched program includes weekly on-farm tours of the dairy farm with
experiences that range from the technical – using computers and new
technologies – to the detailed – providing health care to a newborn calf and
her mother.
“I
love teaching and I love kids. I want to expose them to animal agriculture and
the advances we use, and to show how positive they are for the cows and for our
lifestyle, especially since many of them are our friends and neighbors,” said
Dr. Elizabeth Rejman. She is a veterinarian and spouse of one of Sunnyside Farm’s
family partners, Neil Rejman.
The program may become a permanent part of the BOCES
curriculum if it is as effective at increasing agriculture literacy and
attracting students to the program as its instructor hopes.
“Some of them don’t even know a cow
has to have a calf to produce milk,” said BOCES plant, animal and life sciences
instructor Julia Rotman-Smith. “The kids are excited. They really respond to
Dr. Rejman.”
This
year’s students -- 14 juniors and 8 seniors – first introduction to Sunnyside Farms
included an examination of the feed and crops businesses, which comprise 60
percent of the farm’s budget.
“It’s where the
rubber meets the road,” said Dr. Rejman.
Students may be
surprised, she said, by how technical farming is and the range of skills needed
and careers available. Skills range from computers, to laboratory tests, to
health examinations, to animal behavior, to crop science.
During
the weekly tours students will practice the basics of maternity and new calf
care, learn about methods used to increase cow comfort including installation
of mattresses, discuss the physiology of milk production, perform a health
examination and administer treatments, and observe a necropsy to determine
cause of death.
The
program will provide realistic exposure to modern agriculture on a large dairy,
Dr. Rejman said. Although the farm has 3,000 cows, by understanding the science
behind dairy production practices, by participating in daily routines, and by
observing content and productive cows, Dr. Rejman said she hopes students will
realize large farms are not factory farms.
Mrs.
Rotman-Smith said she hopes this is the first of many career shadowing
opportunities for her students and she is seeking additional businesses to
partner with. It’s important for students to realize the range of careers
available in agriculture, she said, beyond the popular but often unrealistic
goal of becoming a veterinarian.
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