By: Sarah Haile, Sydnie Matkins, Jesslyn McCartney, and Katie Belesimo

Milk is any pale liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals and is made up of four basic components: fat, lactose, protein, and water. The amounts of these substances vary depending on the cow breed, time of collection, diet, and farm.

The first couple milkings secreted after calving are made up of colostrum. Colostrum is rich in immunoglobulins, or antibiotics, which benefits the calf immensely. For this reason, humans don’t consume the colostrum. Instead, it is given to the calves to boost their immune systems and accelerate growth. After the cow gives birth, the milking period lasts for about 305 days,which is the standardized lactose time, with a two month dry period before the next calf is born. The milk is transported to a dairy plant, where it is pasteurized, as required by the FDA’s Pasteurization Milk Ordinance (PMO). It is then distributed to the stores, where consumers may access the dairy products.

While milk production is not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of Virginia’s agriculture commodities, the state’s dairy community ranks third in comparison to other aspects of Virginia’s agricultural programs. Virginia Tech’s agricultural program located at Kentland Farms provides for some of the milk and other dairy products the cafeterias uses. Learning more about where dairy products, more specifically milk, comes from, people can now understand and gain a greater knowledge about a key aspect of their diet.

Learn more about milk here!

I am glad you had the opportunity to virtually meet some of our Governor School Leaders (GSLs) in the last post.  As the On-Site Director, I have the opportunity to be in residence right along side our ten outstanding GSLs and the ninety-eight Gov School students.  The on-site director coordinates the hiring and training of staff, and the implementation of the Gov School program. Our GSLs range from rising Sophomores to PhD candidates in agricultural fields as diverse as Animal Science, Environmental Sciences and Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education.

I am a second-year PhD student in the Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education. Before coming to Virginia Tech, I worked as a youth program manager, where I implemented summer camps, youth leadership programs and other life-skill development opportunities.  These educational programs were done through both short- and long-term events. Additionally, I earned a Masters in Education from Cornell University and a Bachelors in Agricultural Business Management from SUNY Cobleskill.

Because of my previous youth development professional experience, I bring a youth development approach to the Governor’s School for Agriculture.  I believe that the program is not only about academic development, but also about our students growing in their own personal development. Opportunities for youth development comes from many activities outside of the direct curriculum.  Some of these learning opportunities include completing their Global Seminar papers, posters, and brochures in teams.  They also have to manage their own time to complete their many Global Seminar projects. While they are working on their Global Seminar projects they are also attending class and figuring out how to balance their social life, free-time and homework. Through staff training, I have tried to instill in our outstanding GSLs that they are helping our students grow.

I am excited for the month ahead and look forward to having a fantastic summer!

Jeremy Elliott-Engel

Hello GSA 2017 family, friends, and other readers!

Our 2017 year is off to a fantastic start, so what better way than to first introduce some of the Governor’s School Leaders (GSL)? These leaders spend every waking hour helping your students learn about agriculture, while incorporating fun activities and life long lessons.

They’ve spent time learning CPR training in case something goes haywire:

They’ve walked down the runway for your students to showcase Business Professional, Business Casual, and Casual clothing (and some less than casual clothes for laughs!):

And this year, 4 GSLs are returning as previous students, so we’d like to showcase them specifically!

From Hyejin, Lucy, Abby, and Katherine:

“Hello readers, we are four of the Governor’s School Leaders (GSLs) and all had the opportunity to attend Governor’s School as students. Hyejin attended in 2014 and was in the Plant Science major. Lucy attended in 2012 and was in the Ag Econ major. Abby attended in 2015 and was in the Plant Science major. Katherine attended in 2011 and was in the now non-existent Ag Leadership major, she also served as a Food Science GSL in 2014 and 2016. As alumni, we share a common perspective with this year’s GSA students since we have been in their shoes. We know what it’s like to meet your suitemates for the first time, explore a slice of college life, and be able to eat all the junk food you want. We all decided to become GSLs because the program made such a huge impact on our lives. We all fell in love with a college, discovered the impact of agriculture in daily life, and made long lasting relationships. Students have so much to look forward to over the next month. Some of our favorite experiences were hiking the Cascades, studying soil, having hands on experience at the barns, and watching fireworks on the Fourth of July. Students will dive deep into the process of research and become experts on a topic, all while developing collaboration skills. The program helped us grow as leaders and learners and we can’t wait to see the growth of these 98 students. Maybe some of them will recognize the same values we did, and will someday come back to guide a new group of future agriculturalists.”

Overall, the GSLs jumped for joy to support your students here at GSA 2017:

We look forward to another amazing year here at the Governor’s School for Agriculture.

Your GSA staff