This semester has 44 students eager to get out of the classroom and get their hands dirty. With the nice weather lately, many of the committees have been outside doing things on the farm working hard to make the farm look nice after the long, cold winter! During the first couple weeks of class, the students were divided into eight committees based on their interests. Since those first few weeks, each committee has been very busy accomplishing tasks, both in and out of the classroom!
Buildings and Grounds Committee: Has been busy cleaning up the shop and working on tearing down some un-used grain bins. They also worked with the Swine Committee in hanging a curtain on the finisher.
Finance Committee: Has been working hard at putting together a budget for 2011 and paying off bills as they come up. They have been really good at staying organized and keeping every committee award of our financial status.
Public Relations Committee: Has been working on the 100th Anniversary Celebration plans of the Agriculture Curriculum at Iowa State University. They are continuing with updating their web resources and taking pictures of the students.
Custom Crops Committee: Has been doing a lot of work with researching manure handling, and possibly cattle. They have been also planning which fields we will be planting first.
Swine Committee: Has been doing a lot of work with our pig provider, making sure we do our best for the pigs. One way they are trying to reduce problems is by hanging the curtain on the finisher. Their latest activity is looking into installing a Call System in the finisher for the farm manager.
Crops Committee: Has been busy doing research on buying new SMS mobile devices. These devices, which were approved for purchase March 1, will help with soil sampling and crop scouting during the spring and summer months.
Machinery Committee: Has been working with Buildings and Grounds Committee in getting the farm shop organized. They also recently ordered parts for the tiller and will purchase parts to repair the ripper. They are eager to get everything ready for the spring planting.
Marketing Committee: Has been busy selling the last of our beans and meeting with the co-op about insurance and our current grain situation from last fall.
