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Global Seminar Group #1’s Week Report

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BY: GLOBAL SEMINAR GROUP #1

From learning economics to awkward laughing in blogging class, the first few days of the Governor’s School for Agriculture has certainly been interesting.

Every day of the week we have attended Economics is Everywhere, detailing the applications of, and making rational decisions to, everyday life and the agricultural economy. In Renewable Energy, we were introduced to the various techniques for using sustainable energy and conserving natural resources such as Vertical Axis Wind Mills or VAWT.

In Blogging Your Thoughts we honed our skills in communication, specifically in the modern age. Later, we visited the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine where we were allowed to view human cadavers.

After hours, students were able to wind down in the kitchen lounge while grabbing a quick bite to eat. Some students chose to be more “active” during their free time by bellydancing in a hot room full of smelly people, and by taking to the field to play a friendly soccer and volleyball game.

Sadly, some students (Michelle) did get a little too competitive while playing basketball and ended up riding a scooter in WalMart.

 

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Gov School Students Tackle Heavy Questions in Ag

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Why are there no wind farms in Virginia? Why are there door locks on 7-11 stores that are open 24/7? Which is better: conventional or organic farming practices? Are antibiotics detrimental to the food supply? Should America use corn or perennial grasses to create bio-fuel?

These are the questions the 99 students of the Governor’s School for Agriculture have been hard at work attempting to answer — in class, on field trips and in their group projects. During the past four days, students have quickly found a routine and began work on their major projects.

Trips to the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and a guided tour of Newman Library and its resources, have added hands-on opportunities to the Governor’s School experience. Surprisingly, VCOM’s cadavers were the big hands-on hit.

In the evenings, volleyball, basketball, kickball, running, and, of course, World Cup watching have provided opportunities to make new friends and enjoy the Blacksburg evenings.

Follow the students’ adventures on Twitter, and get excited for later this week when students begin contributing to this blog in their own words.

 

 

 

 

 

Sheep Flipping 101

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Now that week three is winding down, the students have become immersed in their first electives and their major courses. Today, food science majors were exposed to a wide range of future careers within the food industry. On the other hand, animal science majors took a field trip to the V Livestock Judging Pavilion where they learned how to properly handle cattle, sheep, and swine. Some skills students learned included: sheep “flipping” and herding cattle. Further, agricultural economics majors were put into a simulated pollution-reduction exercise. During this simulation, students were divided into firms, each with an accountant and a negotiator, setting up a marketplace where they traded nitrogen allowances and kept track of their financials in an effort to meet their goals. This was intended to replicate the real world applications of economics in the agricultural sector. Next, agricultural engineering learned about the utilities of satellites, particularly the application of Lidar software in the field. That is, Lidar can be used to determine aspects of forest and environmental health. Lastly, plant science majors continued their learning of the proper techniques to care for different varieties of turfgrass and the application of turfgrass in a commercial sense.

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Adib Choudhury, Arthur Shune, Nicole Bain, Nidhi Patel, Mary Wooddell