Mystery find of the week!

So in light of the recent discovery in the 450 kitchen we've decided to start the weekly mystery pic. So here you go. Found this in the 450 kitchen. Yum.

Get out the classroom!

Fieldtrip. Remember back in elementary when the teacher said fieldtrip and everyone got all excited? The big yellow bus would roll up and everyone would jam into the back of the bus where the teacher couldn't hear what was being said or done.

We'd put the windows down and inhale nineteen pounds of gravel dust as we traveled to the farm to see a goat and three pink piglets and learn that packing peanuts were made from corn and were edible. (I think when I tried eating one of those peanuts I got a styrofoam one, not corn syrup based...it was definitely not edible.)

Anyway, college students get all excited when they get to leave the classroom too, more for the reason that there is a distraction that keeps them awake than entertaining. Earlier this month the Ag Eds 327X class came for a farm tour looking for an understanding of what the 450 farm does on a day to day basis. About 30 students came to see the farm and received a brief tour by the public relations committee and were briefed on the operations and goals of the farm.

Group viewing hog building

The warm shop was welcome by all.

Machinery committee on the job...

Since this is a farm things get used, things get worn out, and equipment gets broken. Enter the machinery committee. For those of you who are not basking in the snow adorning the Iowa ground, we've had some snow recently, a lot of snow actually. Thanks to the evening news the other night I was informed that we have now set the record for number of consecutive days with 4+ inches of snow on the ground, we're at 58 days and counting. (The old record was 55 days in case you were wondering.) Anyway, with all this snow it has to be moved with the tractor and blade. The blade got in a fight with a rock and lost, fixing it is not a problem unless the old metal is "froze up" with rust.

The machinery committee uses a torch to try to heat up the backside of the blade so they can bend it back straight.

The 450 Farm is blogging!

The Iowa State Ag 450 Farm is now online. For those of you that have received our paper newsletter in the past this does not replace the "Farm Link" but is going to act as a supplement to keep you informed and up to date on a more regular basis. We plan to add content to this blog about once every week or so as things change around the farm. What all will be included on the blog? We don't even know yet, it may be education or a humorous story from the farm that week. Check back often to see what we've been up to lately!