Week 3: Hangin' With the Hogs

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.”

– Winston Churchill

I don’t know that in all my years living in North Carolina that I can remember a summer being this hot. Most of our days in the field end up being in the mid 90’s, but once you add the heat index, things feel closer to 105 degrees. 

Can you say intense?

By the end of the day I am usually hot, and so exhausted that all I can stand to do is take a cold shower and lay in bed the rest of the day. Thankfully our living arrangements don’t skimp on the air conditioning, and thankfully my roommate is all for keeping things extra cool. 

The attractive blue booties

Last week we began our research experiments that make up our livestock unit. The information we collect from this projects will be used to help formulate our final papers and presentations that we will give at the end of the summer. We’ve mainly been focusing on working with the cattle at CEFS. For the last few week we’ve done experiments focused on horn fly control, heat stress, and identifying dung beetle species. It’s been super fascinating, but nothing has been as fascinating as the CEFS swine unit. We were told about the swine unit upon our arrival to CEFS, but it seemed like a long shot that we would get to actually do anything with these pigs. You see, these hogs are essentially in bio-security lock down because this herd has been antibiotic free for over THIRTY YEARS. So any disease that is tracked onto the part of the farm that makes up the unit could be devastating to the herd. 

All of the interns thought we would be decked out in full blown "hazmat" gear. But instead we just had to rock some cute blue plastic booties. 

Mildred, one of the swine unit employees, showed us the ropes of how to handle the pigs. We started our at the first hoop house which houses the piglets that have been weaned from their mothers. These little guys are “the most curious”, as Mildred said. They were so funny bounding through the hay that covered the floor, and some of them were even buried down in it sleeping. But the majority of the pack ran around the house, looking so cute. Once Mildred finished telling us of the piglets in the first house, we moved to the next house; the maternity house. 

There was only one sow in the house when we went in, but she had a full pack of piglets by her side. Mildred asked us if we wanted to hold them, and before we could even say yes, she was plucking the tiny babies away from their mother and into our arms. 

One of the little piglets was so content and slept through the whole ordeal… On the other hand, the little guy I picked up proceeded to pee on me. I like to think of this as my FIRST STAGE OF HERD INITIATION! 

Now get ready, cause I’m about to tell you the highlight of the day… Artificial insemination.

Insemination tools

Yes, that’s right, we got to witness “AI”. I cannot tell you the amount of excitement that came over all of interns when we heard we would get to watch this. I know it’s gross, and I know it may not be desirable to some of you, but it was amazing to watch. On the day we were at the unit there were 4 sows that we in heat and to be inseminated. All of the interns crowded around the front of the sow’s hoop house and waited for them to bring the boars over. While the boars were not actually being used for breeding that day, Mildred explained that the male boar will secrete a pheromone when a female is in heat that will gauge her attention and get her ready for the deed. 

It was a fascinating thing to watch. Mildred swiftly entered the insemination wand into the sow and within probably 10 minutes, the process was completely done. Once it’s confirmed that these girls are in fact pregnant, they will be moved to a separate house to finish their gestation. 

When we finally finished with the sows, we went back to the first piglet house hoping for some more  time with the adorable babies! But of course, the little guy that was passed off to me proceeded to poop all over me right as I as taking a cute picture. 

Herd initiation completed.  

 

Can't wait to fill you all in on the rest of the shenanigans going on around the farm. Hopefully I'll be better about writing on here. 

Until then, 

--Jules

Week 2: The Fun Officially Begins

I

          “Moo may represent an idea, but only the cow knows…”

Mason Cooley

 

Well folks, it’s another beautiful, yet hot week here in Goldsboro, NC. Most of the interns from the Midwestern states are amazed that it could ever be this hot. But for those of us who have dealt with this heat for our entire lives, we continue to kindly assure them that things will in fact get hotter and hotter over the next few weeks till it feels like their heads may spontaneously combust. 

Monday was our first official day on the small farm unit doing morning chores with Marisa, the small farm coordinator. We started the morning by completing a walk-through of the entire unit before eventually breaking into smaller groups to begin our work. I was assigned to the “de-weeding” group. So I grabbed a hoe from the tool shed and began unearthing as many pesky weeds as possible, and let me tell you, weeding in the humid conditions of North Carolina is no easy task. The air is so sticky and so thick that doing a job as seemingly simple as pulling weeds can lead to some serious exhaustion. 

After we finished our farm chores for the day we headed to the main farm unit where we had our first lecture with Dr. Steven Washburn, a professor of animal science, and extension specialist at NC State University. Dr. Washburn specifically researches seasonal breeding, cross breeding, an estrous cycle control in dairy cattle. He's a man who knows his information. We started the lecture by discussing the popularity of  animal production practices in North Carolina, and the many implications, good and bad, to small farming all the way up to large contracted animal farms. It was a very interesting discussion and included many different ideas and prospectives on the animal production system in our country. It was a very interesting discussion, however, once we finished the fun for the day began. Fifteen of us hopped into the CEFS van, which is slowly falling apart, and began heading down the highway towards Ayden, NC.
 

Simply Natural Creamery is an amazing creamery located on the outskirts of the small town of Ayden, and is owned by the Moye family. Mr. Neil Moye greeted us at our van and kindly welcomed us into his facilities before telling us an amazing story of his families decision to move into the dairy industry. According to Mr. Moye, this dream all started with a few cows in backyard when his kids were young. Eventually the kids grew up, however, there remained an interest in the production of milk. With that the Moye’s began exploring what it would take to start up a small dairy. 

Let me just start out by saying that the Moye’s make an incredible product! Their Jersey cows produce milk, butter, buttermilk, and ice cream. They have yet to jump into the world of cheese, and yogurt, but Mr. Moye says that could be on the horizon in the future. But back to the cows… 

For those of you who don't know what a Jersey Cow, check out this gorgeous gal below. 

 

Never thought I would be geeking out over a Jersey cow

The Jersey cow naturally produces milk with a higher butter fat content than the Holstein cow; the traditional black and white cow that most people associate with milking. The higher butter fat content in the milk makes for a richer tasting milk, creamier mouth feel in ice cream, and all around smoother texture. According to Mr. Moye, in order for milk to be considered “whole” milk it must maintain a butter fat percent of 3.25%, however the Moye’s milk stacks at about 3.5%. I know that may not seem like a huge difference, but in the world of milk production it apparently does. So of course it should come as no surprise that the Moye's also strive for an ice cream product that is of above average quality. Apparently in the world of ice cream, a premium grade ice cream will have a butter fat content of 12%, but the Moye's produce a 16% butter fat content product making their ice cream SUPER PREMIUM. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever tasted richer, smoother, more flavorful ice cream in my life. It was truly life changing. 

What is more refreshing than an ice cream cone?

We continued the tour with a talk about homogenization, pasteurization, and buttermilk cultures before we eventually went outside to take a look at the ladies of the hour. Mr. Moye's barn is an open system so that the cows can receive as much fresh air and sunlight as possible. To make things even cooler, Mr. Moye decided to utilize a sand packed barn, which allows for his Jerseys to rest comfortably on something more aligned with their natural environment rather than concrete. The girls seemed very happy and welcomed the occasional head scratch from us interns.

However, the best part of the day would have to be PETTING THE BABIES!

Look at that nose!

The more and more I learn about dairy, the more it fascinates me. I don't know that I would ever want to own and operate my own dairy, but I can definitely see a cow or two in my future. 

Till next time... MOO,
--Jules

Week 1: Welcome to the Farm!

 “The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings”  

– Masanobu Fukuoka, The One-Straw Revolution 

It is official, y’all. I am a CEFS intern! 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with CEFS, also known as the Center for Environmental Farming Systems; the organization was founded in 1994 by a collection of professors, government workers, researchers, and farmers who had a common desire to create a facility where they could research farming practices focused on sustainability. Over the years CEFS has become one of the nation’s top agriculture research centers, and recently they have begun to explore the realm of international agriculture by holding training seminars, and lessons with delegations from countries all over the world. With over 2,000 acres of farm land, the research farm associated with CEFS includes a farming systems research unit (conventional and organic practices), a dairy, an alternative swine unit, an agroforestry unit, a pasture beef unit, and the small farm unit which is where the interns will mainly call home this summer.  

 

Some of the beds and tunnels located at the CEFS small farm unit

So, I’m sure some of y’all are probably thinking, “Jules, why are YOU of all people CHOOSING to spend your summer working on this farm?” 

Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out. 

Working on a farm, in North Carolina, in the middle of the summer is certainly not something I thought I would do in a million years.  While practices in agriculture have been a developing interest of mine over the last several years, I was very unsure of how I could connect those practices, particularly in this internship back to my background in nutrition. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised and overjoyed to find that my background in nutrition, isn’t only welcome, but actually falls perfectly into the curriculum and schedule at the farm. 

cucumbers grafted onto pumpkin plants, and beautiful berries can be found at the small farm!

In case any of y'all are interested, a typical week for us interns include the following:  This is not exact, but a general overview of what our weeks may look like

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Farm Chores: 7-9	Farm Chores: 7-9	Farm Chores: 7-9	Farm Chores: 7-9	Farm Chores: 1-9
Community Engagement: 9-12	Research: Entomology: 9-12	Community Engagement: 9-12	Research: Beneficial Organisms: 9-12	Lecture: 9-12
Lecture: 1-4	Research: Entomology: 1-4	Field Trip to Kinston Farmers Market	Research Beneficial Organisms: 1-4	Small Farm Unit Work: 1-4

Every week, for roughly 5 hours we are required to volunteer at a local community garden. I chose Dillard Academy, which is a charter school that has partnered with the national organization known as FoodCorps. FoodCorps is a branch of AmeriCorps which focuses its efforts on nutrition education in schools by utilizing school gardens as a means to teach math and science. It's an amazing organization, and one that I hope to work for some day in the future!  

In addition to our time in the community we are also doing research on three different topics. This summer we are focusing on Entomology (the study of insects), Livestock Production (including beef, swine, and dairy), and Sociology (food systems). During each unit we will have the opportunity  to learn about and conduct research pertaining to each discipline which will then be used for our final summer projects!

Yes, folks. I said final project. This internship is giving me 6 college credit hours! So a final grade of pass/fail is a real thing.

In our time that has not been scheduled to oblivion, we have been given the opportunity to participate activities that promote nutrition education around Wayne County. One of the programs is known as EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) which is a federally funded nutrition education program focused on addressing the nutritional needs of individuals living in low socioeconomic areas. Once a week, interns, apprentices, and Marisa (the small farm manager) will come together to deliver farm fresh produce to young women, and give them a cooking demonstration or lesson on healthy eating. 

Overall, I'm super excited for this AMAZING opportunity.

I'm excited to learn. I'm excited to grow as a person. I'm excited to meet new people. But I think most of all, I'm excited to explore the opportunities of the future, and have an amazing time doing it!

For more information on CEFS you can visit cefs.ncsu.edu 

Till next time, 

--Jules 

The 2015 CEFS intern class playing sand volleyball with Goldsboro Parks and Rec