March 2020 - Nutrition on the Dairy Farm

1. List the different feedstuffs we mix to feed cows a balanced diet.
2. Describe how we mix feed for our cows.
3. Understand how we meet the nutritional needs of cows in different stages.
4. Describe how important the different nutrients are to cows growth and health.
5. Understand manure from cows and how we use it to benefit our soil and crops.




Guiding questions:
1. What does the term "TMR" mean? 
2. What is an example of a protein in a cow's diet?
3. Do cows need fat in their diet?
4. How does a feed mixer work and is technology important to mix feed?
5. What do we use for bedding and where does it come from?
6. What is manure used for on the farm?  How is it stored?

February 2020 - Calving on the Ranch

Objectives:
1. Explain how calves are cared for once born. 
2. Identify the difference between a cow, a heifer, and a bull. 
3. Understand how cows are identified and records tracked throughout their life. 
4. Understand how an ultra sound works. 
5. Explain the auction process. 




Guiding questions:
1. What does the term "spring cows" mean? 
2. What is a heifer?
3. How does an EID tag work? What information does it hold? 
4. What is the process called using a camera to see if the cow is pregnant? 
5. What does a pen rider do? 
6. How does a cattle auction operate?

View answers here.  

February 2020 - Farm to Cart

​Objectives:
1. Identify steps taken to ensure food safety on the farm and in the cheese plants. 
2. Identify how cows are milked.
3. Understand milk makes dairy products and identify dairy products.
4. Understand the cheese making process. 



Guiding questions:
1. What products do we get from milk and dairy cows?
2. What is your favorite dairy product?
3. Where does the milk go after it leaves the cow?
4. What is pasteurization? Why is it important?

January 2020- Winter Farming 
"HOW can they do that!??"

Objectives:
1. To identify why we can grow crops year round.
2. Understand how water is conserved in the irrigation system in Arizona.
3. Develop an understanding of how crops in the field become feed.
4. To determine how technology helps us farm more efficiently

Guided Questions:
1. What allows us to double crop in Arizona?

2. When was the wheat planted?

3. What are the two major parts of the pivot that help us reduce evaporation and conserve water?
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4. When do we harvest the wheat and how do we know when it is ready to harvest?

5. What does a forage do for the cow?

6. What process do we use to preserve the feed for the year?

7.How many days a year do the calves have to be fed?

Answers can be viewed here

November 2019 - Let's talk about Poop - Manure from Cow to Crops

Objectives:
​
1. Identify how farmers move manure on the farm.
2. Understand the steps in recycling manure into bedding.
3. Understand how manure is used as fertilizer.
4.  Develop an understanding of the farm model used in livestock and crops (Feed to Cows to Manure to Fields to Feed)
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WORD BANK: 

Leak           Bedding             Crop Fields           Inject           Pumps                  

Basin         Plants                  Wagon                 Fertilizer      Vacuum      

Guiding questions:

1.  On our farm manure is used for __________________ and ____________. 

2. The machine that removes the manure from the cow pens is called the Mensch or a manure _____________.  

3.  Solids are separated from the manure and they are loaded into a _____________ to be put into the free-stall pens of the cows. 

4.  The remaining dry manure is spread onto _______________ to add fertilizer and organic matter to the soil for next years crop.

5.  The liquid manure stored on the farm is inside of ______________ in the ground and we make sure they never have a ________________.

6.  _____________ make the manure move through the hoses to the fields.

7.  We ____________ the liquid manure under the soil surface to make it available to the _______________.

Answers can be viewed here

​October 2019 - Silage Season in Minnesota

Objectives:
1. Learn the need for silage in a cow's diet
2. Recognize the responsibilities of team members for silage harvest
3. Understand the process of silage harvest from start to finish
​4. Observe the different equipment used for harvest

Guiding questions:
1. The ___(equipment)___ chops the corn in the field to create silage.
2. When do cows have access to eat?  
3. What are the responsibilities of the scale house?
4. Which driver forms the shape of the silage pile?
5. After fieldwork is done, what does the farm do to the silage pile? 
6. How does the farm protect the silage from weather such as rain, snow and wind? 

Answers can be viewed here