ABAC by: Mrs. H

 

Day 9, last stop of the day was Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College  (ABAC).

Hi, I’m Mrs. Hernandez one of the Agriculture Teachers at Riverview High School. It was very exciting to take the students to ABAC as this is a school I went to and received my Associates degree before transferring to the University of Florida.

ABAC is a 4-year state college that offers 12 different bachelor’s degrees with varying specializations, 4 Associate degrees and 10 minors. As a small school of about
4,000 students this college packs a big punch and lots of opportunities.

While at the school we got a tour of the campus grounds and got to see most of the teaching farms up close. The tour guides gave the students an overview of all the campus life activities to look forward to, rodeos, tractor and truck pulls, spring field days, movie nights, Clay shooting teams, and so much more. On top of all that this school has some of the nicest on campus dorms than any other college we have seen.

If that didn’t interest the students enough, they even have competitive sports, intramural sports, internships, and opportunities to study abroad. Finally, if a student comes from any neighboring states (FL, GA, and TN, SC, NC) they can apply for a Neighbor waiver and receive in-state tuition.

This is one of the many colleges stops we had but I fell it stood on its own pedestal on size, opportunities, and price.

Better Fresh Farms by: Ms. Miranda

   Better Fresh Farms is a hydroponic farm that uses shipping containers to grow produce. This farm was created because of a need that Grant Anderson saw in his community. Grant saw that while living in a highly agricultural area of Georgia that most commodities produced were not locally available and were lacking in fresh produce such as leafy greens. From this need he started a hydroponic farm that is able to supply local fresh produce year-round to his community.

During the tour we were able to walk through the different shipping containers and see how they have improved and evolved over the years. He was able to share what had worked and not worked for them over the years and how they were able to adapt. It was great for the students to be able to see how setbacks were not always a failure but an opportunity to grow and improve.

Each of the containers we visited had a different set up and grew different kinds of produce. One container had a long flat bed that grew tomatoes. Another container had vertical trays that grew kale and that was held in by plastic fibers keeping the plant in place and still allowing the flow of water. The last container had horizontal rows of trays that grew lettuce and was the most preferred method of hydroponics by the Better Fresh Farms.

UF Horse Teaching Unit by: Anais

Today we visited the University of Florida Horse Teaching Unit at UF. Dr. TenBroeck talked to us about the facility, what it provides the students, and its history. Some of its history is that it was previously a Saddlebred horse facility. There was a large range of horse breeds from Quarter Horse to Thoroughbred to Arabians. Now they only use pure breed Quarter Horses and Appendix. The disciplines are mainly western, focusing on ranch riding.

 At the HTU they breed all their own horses which helps teach students about reproduction, AI and how to deliver and care for foals. Once the foals are born, a student gets assigned one horse and will be with it until the sale when the horses are 2 years old. They learn basic foal and mother care, how to start foals to be ready in the yearling classes, and more. Once they're yearlings the students work on desensitization, ground work, manners, and obstacles. Once the horses hit 2 years old they will start establishing principles through the saddle. In the fall they will be saddled for the first time, being worked 3 times a week. During this period all work is still being done in the round pen for safety and efficiency. When spring comes the horses will have had at least 4 months under saddle and will have their first few rides. During spring the students put the horse through courses under saddle preparing them for the soon to be sale!

As we toured the facility we also learned that students can live on the grounds in exchange for working there. This is an excellent opportunity to build your resume and gain skills needed to work in the industry. 

Honeybees by: Ashley

UF Honey Bee Research Lab 

On our final day of our tour, the first stop was at the Honey Bee Research Lab at UF. The building was beautiful and it was incredible to see what students learn about honey bees! The program was strong but in 2014 there was a fight to improve and expand the bee research center. With support from the school and a generous donation of $250,000 from one beekeeper they were able to significantly improve their facility. There are several classes on beekeeping offered at UF. Some of these include beekeeping and business in beekeeping.

Some things I learned in the unit were that there are between 9-12 species of honey bees in the world. They were brought to the US in the 1600’s and were not native here. The behavior of honey bees is extremely hard to study because of how observation is done. It has to be done so up close that it doesn’t allow bees to act as if they were alone, they often become on high alert as to protect their hives. 

Bees cannot see the color red, so the best way to observe them is with a red light. They only see pitch black which is what it’s like for them in their bee hive. The area is also very hot as to not make the bees use all of their energy to regulate their temperature. The room is kept at about 90-95 degrees. The biggest threat known to bees is Varroa Destructor. It is a mite that takes over the bee hives.

Part of the lab has a processing room with a variety of honey extractors that are used with different size apiaries.

There are over 300 honey bee hives at the UF research center. They have a specific research area  with other hives to be able to observe and research more about the bees. These hives require modification occasionally so often times students that have classes in the research center will have to learn other skills such as welding.

We were able to participate in a hive demonstration. All suited up (I'm the on in pink!) Mr. Chris showed us a  hive, pointing out what was happening in that hive. 

The production of honey depends on the bees environment. In the best conditions, bees can produce 200 pounds of honey in a few weeks! The queen of the hive is the most important aspect, and she lays eggs 10x smaller than a grain of rice. If the queen dies, a new queen or female bee will be selected at random. It’s so cool to know that UF offers a lot more than expected!

LTF Greenhouse by: Arianna

This is day 9 of Riverview High School's summer ag tour and on the third stop of the day we visited the LTF Greenhouse in Tifton, Ga. Which is also know as the largest plant greenhouse in the southeast!

As we toured this facility we were shown essentially the 5 step process from where the plants are grown to harvested, packed and shipped out. Plus everything in between of course. As mentioned earlier this was the largest greenhouse in the southeast, they have over 81 greenhouses. This facility harvests over 7 different products from watermelon to peppers and even cantaloupe!

This specific greenhouse depends solely on their workers know as the “H2A” workers and without them this would not exist, considering everything is HAND harvested you could imagine how much work they put in to providing you a top tier product.

When the product is complete and done in packaging they are brought into these super big coolers where they stay there for no longer then 48 hours. Fruits and vegies actually have a really short shelf life if not stored correctly. I learned that cucumbers actually have this edible wax that is put on them which makes them look shiny and essentially more appealing to the consumers. Although it doesn’t sound to great it’s actually been done for a super long time.

I really enjoyed this stop and being able to see exactly where this food came from and being washed and packed.

MSU Agricultural and Biological Engineering by Mrs. H

Ms. Taylor Campbell set up several stops for us to learn more about a few of the departments at Mississippi State University.  

One stop made at Mississippi State University was the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.  We were greeted by Dr. Daniel Chesser and Dr. Wes Lowe. They talked about the various careers that you could go in to in this field and how students in this department are working on research to help improve equipment to help the farmers. The research that is being done is helping to figure out what the truth is.

They showed us a few of their projects. The first was an autonomous boat that is solar powered. This will be sent out to run quality tests in different environments. The technology on this boat was unbelievable. They also showed us a planter that has sensors used to control planting depth and width which helps in the accuracy of planting seeds. This technology can help decrease the time in the field, which saves the farmers money. The kids also got to sit in the cab of the tractor to see the technology that is available in today's modern tractors.

They also shared some down to earth conversations to help the students understand the importance of not giving up and setting high standards to achieve your goals. And that it is okay for your goals to change.

MSU Plant and Soil Sciences by: Natalee

Our first stop at MSU (Mississippi State University) was the greenhouses. Dr. Harkess talked about some of the history and the basics before entering. While inside, we learned some very important things. For example  we learned about the concept of vermicomposting, which is the process of composting using earth worms. We also learned about pesticides and herbicides and why separate storage is important. They are put in cold storage for climate control and kept away from each other to prevent mix ups between the two that could cause harm. 

When touring the inside of the greenhouses we saw a hydroponic system they was set up. This hydroponic system was for lettuce. The water was pumped from a bucket on the ground and that water flowed down the tubes reaching every head of lettuce. 68 heads of lettuce could be grown in this one hydroponic system. In 6-8 weeks the lettuce grows from a seed to something you can eat. There were all kinds of interesting plants in the greenhouses. 

   

I’m thankful we got the chance to experience what the greenhouses are like at a college and how they are different than some we normally see.

What do Ewe know about Sheep? by: Nadia

 On our first stop of day 8, we went to the World Shepherd Project in Watkinsville, Georgia where we met the world renowned embryologist, Dr. Stewart.

Dr. Stewart has been traveling the world for over 40 years working with just about any species. His most worked on being sheep, specifically Katahdins - a breed of hair sheep. He says what makes these sheep different is the fact that they don't have lanolin, like the typical wool sheep, so they tend to taste better. Additionally, they are one of the most fertile sheep breeds, giving more and healthier offspring. They are also known to be higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, making them better for you to eat.

During this visit Dr. Stewart gave us a tour of his Katahdin flock and breeding facility where tagging, AI and regular health checks are done. He demonstrated how the handling chute worked. My favorite part was when all of the sheep ran up to  us! He uses guardian dogs to protect his sheep out on pasture. 

Raising sheep myself, I loved visiting the World Shepherd Farm. 

MSU Dairy Unit by: Ashley

While we were at Mississippi State University we visited their dairy unit. The Mississippi State University dairy unit was quite different from the dairy we went to earlier this ag trip. For instance the scale and organization when milking was very different from the larger scale dairy.  While we were at the dairy unit, Mr. Hardin showed us where they keep their cows and their milking parlor. They had two breeds of dairy cows that included Jersey and Holstein. He explained how students would come to help care for the cows here at MSU. That would include milking, feeding, and cleaning what needed at the dairy unit. 

At the Mississippi State University dairy unit they lined the cows up facing away from the middle where they hook up the milking machine. The whole process begins once the cows file into their position, then they would strip, meaning they would milk the cow just a little bit by hand to get them started. After they strip they dip the teat with iodine to kill any bacteria on it and wipe it clean. Then you would hook up the actual milking machine and wait till the cow is done. After the cow is all milked you would dip the teats with iodine one last time. The cows will get milked two times a day typically around three o'clock so that students had time to go to their classes. 

Once all the cows have been milked, the milk was sent to another location to be pasteurized and processed into products such as cheese, ice cream, and drinkable milks.  All these products are then sold in a store on campus. Before we left we visited this store and got some ice cream, it was very yummy. I think it’s interesting to see how products are made from start to finish. And in this case would include where the milk comes from. I really enjoyed seeing what MSU had to offer and I’m so glad we got to see the dairy unit.

North Georgia Turf by: Ashley

Today we went to North Georgia Turf. To be honest I didn’t know how they harvested sod before we came here.  We met with Mr. and Mrs. Howard who showed us a presentation on what their company does and is all about.  In our society sports and athletics play a big role in peoples personal hobbies and careers.  NG Turf provides sod and turf for many different college stadiums, and golf courses, among other things. The sod and turf industry is ever growing and the sod is sold to people all over the area. Here at NG Turf they grow different varieties of Zoysia and Bermuda grass, among some other types. 

After learning about their company, they took us to go see their fields and how they harvest the sod.  They showed us a cool machine that lifted and cut a thin panel of grass. Then the cut panel of grass was moved on a conveyor belt up to a worker who would then stack the panels on a pallet. Now they were ready to be stored and sold. He also showed us different models and styles of machines they used at NG Turf. It was very interesting seeing all the machinery and what exactly was involved with growing and harvesting quality grass.

A & M Farms by: Natalee

At A&M Farms in Lyons, GA,  we learned all about the production and sale of onions. Not just any onion, but Vidalia Onions. They have 600 acres of onions which they primarily grow. Planting occurs in the fall and the seeds mature in the spring. Onions have a complex cycle they need to follow in order to eliminate moisture. Moisture in an onion can cause rotting. Because of this, onions are stored in a room with high powered fans where they sit until they are internally and externally dry.

Onions are stored in crates that hold 20-50 pounds of onions. Onions are a year round operation and require a lot of work to ensure they are fresh when arriving to there destination. When dealing with onions it’s important to keep them dry, like I mentioned, but also to keep in mind their shelf life. An onion has more storability if you don’t clip the roots. In the processing line, onions get a sticker as a label and then are put in boxes or bags for small purchase. 

   

They even have robots that help pack the boxes of onions on a pallet to be shipped out. 

DID YOU KNOW?

The Vidalia Onion is named after the town they are grown in, Vidalia, Georgia. The sweet flavor is due to the low amount of sulfur in the soil in which the onions are grown. It can be called a Vidalia only if it's grown in one of 20 counties designated by the the Vidalia Onion Act of 1986.

920 Cattle and Company by: Anais

Today we visited Mr. and Mrs. Creasy at their company farm 920 Cattle and Co. They started this business back in 2014. The first animals they raised were Brangus and Angus cattle. In 2020 they added hogs, 350 chickens and 160 lambs. Additionally, they owned 10 acres of pecans on property and more off property. They have a total of 3 farms across the state of Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Creasy are also the proud owners of Fries Frozen Foods and harvest hogs and cattle there. Their ownership of this business started in 2017 when the previous owner needed someone to take on the business because of retirement. 

  

With our tour of the farm we were invited to have supper with them. They grilled up burgers and sausage, all made from grass-fed animals on their land. That night we talked about regenerative agriculture, strategies in running a business, and how they have expanded their farms. Their biggest piece of advise was to get to know your customers. You need to know what kind of personality they have, how they like things done, and if they trust your product. I enjoyed just being able to have a conversation to learn more about the agriculture industry. A special thanks to 920 Cattle and Co. 

  

White Hills Farm by: Andrew

Today, we went to visit the White Hills Lavender Farm. Mrs. Amy Sutter was kind enough to give us a tour of her garden. Some varieties of lavender they have is the Spanish lavender, the English lavender, and the hybrid (a mix of the French and English lavender). Besides lavender, they also grow other herbs and some vegetables. They grow rosemary, basil, oregano, asparagus, tomatoes, hibiscus, and some other crops.

  

  

The hibiscus she grows throughout the year is made into tea. There’s a specific hibiscus, so don’t risk using the ones in your neighborhood for this purpose because they’re poisonous! Mrs. Amy dried out the lavender and sells it whole. She also makes medicinal products and other substances from lavender. The English lavender was the best smelling by far in my opinion but is the most popular for commercial wholesale. 

We were also able to make a "bee hotel". This was a fun activity for us to learn how to provide a home for these important pollinators. Without them we wouldn't have any food to eat. 

Fries Frozen Foods by: Angela

On day 8 of our summer ag tour, we got the opportunity to visit Fries Frozen Foods in Millen, GA.  Fries Frozen Foods processes pork, lamb, and beef which is 20% of their own animals and 80% of the public bringing their animals. Our tour guides, Mrs. Becca and Mr. Jarrod Creasy greeted us outside when we arrived with a warm welcome. Before going inside we had to put on hairnets and booties so that we wouldn’t transfer any bacteria that we had accumulated while visiting other farms during the day. 

  

Once we got inside, we immediately got to see how staff went about cutting a pig’s carcass to get ready to package for customers. The process was a lot faster than I had expected and it was very interesting to watch even though at first it was surprising to see as soon as we walked in! After, we were shown the carcass floor. The carcass floor is where the animals are rendered unconscious. They process 20-25 head a week! Cattle gets split in quarters after they are eviscerated and the hide is removed. Pigs get scalded in a special machine to remove hair, before they are able to go on the rails. This is also where all the meat is federally inspected by the USDA. Someone from the USDA is there every hour of the day to make sure all the meat that is being processed meets high standards. Afterwards, we got to see where the carcasses are stored (the cooler room) which always stays below 42°. We also got to see the freezers which are stored at -4°. Overall it was an amazing experience to be able to see what the meat we eat goes through before it gets on our plate!

MSU Poultry Unit by: Kinley

On day 6 of our tour we visited MSU, or Mississippi State University. We got to learn about plants and dairy, but what stuck out the most to me was the poultry unit. We learned how poultry was processed and essentially where our food comes from. The state of Mississippi has been recognized as the world's largest broiler producer, and egg producer. Poultry is also the #1 agricultural commodity in the United States! 

Our chicken nuggets and buffalo wings first start in an incubator where the eggs are slowly rotated to keep the yolk centered and to prevent the embryo from being squashed between the yolk and the shell. It also prevents the sticking to the membrane. Commercialized farms have been reported to produce at least 1 million eggs per week. The eggs incubate from 20-21 days or three weeks before being moved into a brooder to prepare for hatching. The brooder is kept at  a solid 95 degrees to keep the hatching pullets and cockerels at a consistent temperature. This simulates the warmth of a hen.

Some chicks are vaccinated by a spray which turns them green or pink in color, to identify which chicks have already been vaccinated. Multiple vaccinations can cause possible sickness. There is also another method for vaccinating chicks, before they hatch. A tiny hole is made into the top of the egg. The vaccination is then inserted into the embryo. 

The birds are feather sexed before being put in with other broilers. These birds never reach sexual maturity so there’s not a problem with them being together. The growth rate for broiler chickens is 5-8 weeks. They grow a lot faster than other chickens and they also gain weight faster. 

Once fully grown, they are taken to be processed. They are first stunned with electricity to make sure they are unconscious and cannot feel anything. The birds are bled out and then hung up to be de-feathered. They are placed into a scalder which stays between 130-170 degrees Fahrenheit. This loosens up the feather follicles to allow de-feathering to become an easier process. They are then put into a rotating machine with rubber arms that pull the feathers completely out. By then, the birds are ready to have their feet removed and go off to get processed for consumer requests. 

The process of learning how this works was very interesting. MSU uses the processor mostly for educational purposes. I think it’s very important to know where our food comes from and hopefully you will too!

Red, White and Blue Farms by: Kinley

On June 10th, our final day of this years ag tour, we visited Red, White and Blues Farms. This farm relies heavily on agritourism, which allows the farmers to teach the public about different parts of agriculture while also supporting their business. They have many activities for children, including slides, tractor rides, barrel trains and ball games along with much more. All of the activities are unlimited for only $10. They also occasionally have festivals which range from $5-$7 in price to enter! 

They have many flavors of blueberries available for picking including Sweet Crisp, Farthing, Spring High, Emerald, Jewel and Prima Donna. They are currently having a "U-Dig" where you can come dig up a blueberry plant for $5 a piece! Their facility includes a gemstone mine and blow up blobs to jump on. Red White and Blue Farms has 22 acres of sunflowers, 11 acres of strawberries, and 6-8 acres of peaches  to pick. They are even adding a corn maze this fall!

This is a mechanical blueberry harvester.

This farm also took us behind the scenes and showed us how they process their produce and flowers. They come from H&A Farms, where they managed about 9 blueberry farms and produce roughly 40% of the total blueberries. After picking, the berries are picked through for any bad or unripe blueberries. About 65-85% of the fruit is able to be processed and sent to our local grocery stores. These berries are mostly picked by variety and that’s why our store bought blueberries taste so different for every individual berry. What the farm doesn’t sell then becomes processed in order to prevent any kind of waste and use up the produce for any reason. Visiting this farm was very fun and I will absolutely be coming back here! 

  

We were able to taste the different varieties of berries and decide which we liked best.