Texas A&M University located in College Station, in the heart of Texas is one of the top 10 colleges to study animal science in the US.
For five months it’s was the home to six UCD students.
So how does down south teach agriculture? And how does this way of life and agriculture differ from the Irish?
From the moment we walked outside the doors of Houston’s airport, we met the blast of August summer heat, 34°C and as we travelled further into Texas the vast landscapes and traditional ranch entrances appeared.
After the brief ordeal of hurricane Harvey, my classes of animal breeding, genetics, reproduction and welfare began for the semester.
Testing floor preferences as an enrichment option for pigs (sand v woodchips: sand won).College Farm
Several times a week, I travelled to the 1,300ac college farm to work with equine, beef, sheep, pigs and goats. Since work placement is not a part of their degree programme (unlike UCD), interaction on the farm is essential.
As a class, we conducted an array of activities there including using electro ejaculating probes to collect semen for AI purposes.
The beef centre consists of holding pens for the two herds, the commercial herd that is a breed of predominantly Angus-Brahman for heat tolerance and the pure-bred Hereford and Angus herd that was mostly used for research. It is not legally required to tag cattle.
Without doubt, my study abroad in Texas was an agricultural adventure
Due to the high annual temperatures, the pig shed had no walls with slatted concrete floors and pens for confined feeding.
There was also a nursery barn and farrowing rooms. The goat centre is 16ac in size with a shed and one-acre paddocks for grazing.
There are extensive state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to equine research including the Hildebrand Equine complex built in 2014. The farm visits confirmed the theoretical information in my mind while giving me a chance to really get hands on.
The Hildebrand Equine complex built in 2014. Education System
Differences continued in the field of education. It is heavily based on continuous assessment .
We were assigned random 'pop quizzes' in lectures and scientific review papers, as well as projects.
On top of that ,the grading system is steeper than ours. To pass you need to get 60% (compared to 40% in Ireland) and the A bracket is 90%+ (70%+ in Ireland). This system was more challenging but I found it reduced the stress of the final exams.
Animal Behaviour
Furthermore, I had opportunities to gain knowledge from some experts in the field of animal behaviour, including Dr Temple Grandin and Dr Ron Gill, allowing me to understand the psyche of animals better.
We learnt that unpleasant (constantly aggressive towards the animals) and inconsistent (pleasant and aggressive) handling of pigs can cause reduced growth rates and increased stress hormones (Hemsworth et al. 1987).
Furthermore, we learnt that when sheep were placed in a Y-shaped maze with two faces (sheep and humans) at either end, the animals went to the face they knew and could remember up to 50 faces for two years (Kendrick et al. 2001).
Testing the effects of isolation on sheep.I experienced a breathtaking environment and culture. There was always a warm 'howdy' whenever I felt a little homesickness creep in.
Without doubt, my study abroad in Texas was an agricultural adventure.
Read More
Calving over 500 cows in three weeks
Milking 1200 cows on a 750 acre block
Being a junior herdsman on a 1300 head dairy farm
Texas A&M University located in College Station, in the heart of Texas is one of the top 10 colleges to study animal science in the US.
For five months it’s was the home to six UCD students.
So how does down south teach agriculture? And how does this way of life and agriculture differ from the Irish?
From the moment we walked outside the doors of Houston’s airport, we met the blast of August summer heat, 34°C and as we travelled further into Texas the vast landscapes and traditional ranch entrances appeared.
After the brief ordeal of hurricane Harvey, my classes of animal breeding, genetics, reproduction and welfare began for the semester.
Testing floor preferences as an enrichment option for pigs (sand v woodchips: sand won).College Farm
Several times a week, I travelled to the 1,300ac college farm to work with equine, beef, sheep, pigs and goats. Since work placement is not a part of their degree programme (unlike UCD), interaction on the farm is essential.
As a class, we conducted an array of activities there including using electro ejaculating probes to collect semen for AI purposes.
The beef centre consists of holding pens for the two herds, the commercial herd that is a breed of predominantly Angus-Brahman for heat tolerance and the pure-bred Hereford and Angus herd that was mostly used for research. It is not legally required to tag cattle.
Without doubt, my study abroad in Texas was an agricultural adventure
Due to the high annual temperatures, the pig shed had no walls with slatted concrete floors and pens for confined feeding.
There was also a nursery barn and farrowing rooms. The goat centre is 16ac in size with a shed and one-acre paddocks for grazing.
There are extensive state-of-the-art facilities dedicated to equine research including the Hildebrand Equine complex built in 2014. The farm visits confirmed the theoretical information in my mind while giving me a chance to really get hands on.
The Hildebrand Equine complex built in 2014. Education System
Differences continued in the field of education. It is heavily based on continuous assessment .
We were assigned random 'pop quizzes' in lectures and scientific review papers, as well as projects.
On top of that ,the grading system is steeper than ours. To pass you need to get 60% (compared to 40% in Ireland) and the A bracket is 90%+ (70%+ in Ireland). This system was more challenging but I found it reduced the stress of the final exams.
Animal Behaviour
Furthermore, I had opportunities to gain knowledge from some experts in the field of animal behaviour, including Dr Temple Grandin and Dr Ron Gill, allowing me to understand the psyche of animals better.
We learnt that unpleasant (constantly aggressive towards the animals) and inconsistent (pleasant and aggressive) handling of pigs can cause reduced growth rates and increased stress hormones (Hemsworth et al. 1987).
Furthermore, we learnt that when sheep were placed in a Y-shaped maze with two faces (sheep and humans) at either end, the animals went to the face they knew and could remember up to 50 faces for two years (Kendrick et al. 2001).
Testing the effects of isolation on sheep.I experienced a breathtaking environment and culture. There was always a warm 'howdy' whenever I felt a little homesickness creep in.
Without doubt, my study abroad in Texas was an agricultural adventure.
Read More
Calving over 500 cows in three weeks
Milking 1200 cows on a 750 acre block
Being a junior herdsman on a 1300 head dairy farm
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