SAE Visit #2

I would like to preface this by saying that my second "SAE" visit was a more unconventional one. We are still working with the parameters of not being able to physically visit any SAEs, and after talking with my cooperating teacher, we thought it would be interesting to look at an agriscience fair project instead of doing another "visit" of a traditional SAE. 

My "visit" was with two students who competed in Agriscience Fair at Farm Show in 2020. They worked on a project that focused on different feeds in show pigs, and what feed actually produces the best pig. They used data from the Ohio State Fair and the Shippensburg Fair on who was the winner of certain classes and what feed plan they were on that helped them to win classes. They then analyzed the contents of each feed, focusing specifically on lysine, fiber, and fat and the quantities in two different brand feeds, Umbarger and Formula Champion Feeds. In their research, they discovered that Formula Champion Feeds was the more successful brand out of the two in getting show pigs at the top of their class. This pair did so well at the state level that they moved onto nationals and placed 15th overall for this Agriscience Fair project. 

During our conversation, the students identified different aspects of the project that proved challenging. One of these challenges was that there was different judges between the two fairs, making the opinion not consistent and possibly skewing the data. To overcome this, they looked at the carcasses of the winning pigs and evaluated them. 

This project stemmed from one the students real-life experience, as well. This student was showing pigs a lot and always making it into the top, but never winning. She started asking questions about why she wasn't winning and what she could do to get to that point. The result was focusing on her animals nutrition and seeing if changing that could produce a winning pig. 

This specific conversation was one of the coolest parts about this "visit." After hearing this, it showed me how agriscience puts the scientific method in a real life context. The student observed, saw an issue, asked questions, did some research, hypothesized, and then conducted an experiment to test that hypothesis. As a teacher, this is the kind of stuff that we want our kids doing: applying what they have learned in the classroom to everyday life. Instantly I was sold on how great agriscience fair is, and thought of the many ways that I could incorporate it into my future program.

This was a really unique and interesting learning experience for me. I know nothing about pigs, so I was able to gain a lot of insight on showing and raising pigs from learning about these two student's project. I also learned a lot about AET and students actually completing an agriscience project. I have never done one or seen what it looks like, so I gained a lot from being able to look at theirs. The perspective I gained from learning about agriscience fair has helped me get more ideas of how my future program can have more options for students, thus reaching a wider range of students. Agriscience can lead to other options in a program too, such as further research, teaching students about the scientific method, and allowing for a spring board for a potential SAE project or even career interest. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this "visit" and learned a lot from it.