One highlight of the 2018 OSLN Convening will be the chance to visit Waterman Farms. Earlier this year, a group of teachers from Ohio and Pennsylvania visited the farm. Read the article below to see what they learned.
The facility’s proper name is The Ohio State University’s Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory. It supports research, teaching, and outreach programs, including many that showcase the farm’s herd of 100 Jersey cows!
The visit to Waterman Farms is just of the sessions teachers who attend our fall convening can join.
The convening supports our 2019 Ohio Design Challenge on food security. The event will be held on Thursday, October 18, 2018 from 9:30 a.m – 3:30 p.m. at the Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. 2201 Fred Taylor Dr, Columbus, OH 43221. Registration for the convening is free. Register here. Even if you can’t attend the October convening, your school can still participate in the 2019 Ohio Design Challenge. Find resources and sign up to learn more at www.osln.org/design.
Even if you can’t attend the October convening, your school can still participate in the 2019 Ohio Design Challenge. Find a portal for classroom resources and sign up to join the design challenge at www.osln.org/design.
This article was originally posted on ohiocorneducation.org on July 18, 2018 and is reproduced here with permission from Ohio Corn and Wheat.
Teachers exploring technology in agriculture
Thanks to the advance of technology, precision agriculture has given farmers new tools in their toolboxes to advance crop health and increased yield. Participants in the Exploring Tech in Ag workshop in Columbus, sponsored by the Ohio State University and a USDA-NIFA grant, learned about the way technology informs farming decisions and helps farmers produce more abundant crops.
22 teachers from around the state and one from Pennsylvania gathered at The Ohio State University’s Waterman Agriculture and Natural Resources Laboratory Complex in Columbus. The two day workshop included field work, demonstrations, and data analysis.
What happens to nitrogen?
The nitrogen cycle activity showed how nitrogen changes forms within earth’s atmosphere and how it interacts with the lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. Participants role-played forms of nitrogen and interacted with bacteria to see how nitrogen compounds change, to show how differently nitrogen reacts in soils compared to the other common nutrients, phosphorus and potassium. (Note OSLN readers: We won’t have time on October 18 to do this exercise, but are planning to include the content on variable rate planting)
How healthy is your soil?
Next, it was out to the field to collect soil samples and measure nutrient content. Activities included testing with the Lamotte soil testing kit, included in the Soil and Sustainability lessons on Feed the World, and a soil charge demonstration. Using the GreenSeeker handheld device to measure canopy cover is a way to predict the nitrogen requirement of corn crops. The remote sensing device determines how much red light is reflected—healthy plants absorb more red light and may need less nitrogen application. This demonstrates the technologies involved in precision agriculture and the connection between light and crop health.
Chuck Crawford, a teacher at Dublin Jerome High School, presented a threaded PBL, Managing nutrient needs in agriculture. This lesson culminates in students determining which spray nozzle would be appropriate for soil amendments and pesticides, then evaluating the pattern of a sprayer to assess their choice.
How does the planting date matter?
Soybeans reach maturity depending on when they are planted. Using the Canopeo app, participants checked canopy closure, or the plant’s stage of development, and measured yield potential. Using this app demonstrated how much easier technology made the measurement, as opposed to counting plants in measured sections of the field.
What is the benefit of variable rate seeding?
Teachers looked at three test plots to determine how the number of plants in a plot affects height and stem diameter to introduce the idea of variable rate planting. Farmers can build maps using soil properties, yield patterns, and aerial imaging to determine what seeding rate is best for different areas. Mike Gilkey of 3D Aerial talked to the group about how drone photography helps provide information for these maps.
What do the numbers show?
Finally, Kathy Daniels of Mississinewa High School presented a data analysis lesson. Participants did t-tests with on-farm research data to see if a significant result was present.
This workshop was presented again in Custar, Ohio, at the Northwest Agricultural Research Station. Armed with these great lessons and activities, teachers can help their students understand more about modern farming and the advantages of the using technology in agriculture.