Dairy/ Calving Operation Placement SAE

My first SAE visit this semester with Greenwood was with Jay, who works on his pap's dairy farm feeding, watering, and weaning calves and caring for their needs.

Who did you visit?
Jay is a freshmen at Greenwood who has a profound interest in dairy cattle.

Where did the visit occur?
The visit for Jay's SAE project occured on his grandparents dairy farm in Millerstown.

What preparations did you make prior to the visit?
Prior to visiting, we had to schedule the visit with Jay and determine what biosecurity measures need to be taken so that we don't cross contaminate anything between SAE visits.

What was the students' SAE program?
Jay's project is considered a placement SAE, since he works on-site at the farm caring for the animals. Although he keeps accurate records, Jay does not conduct formal research and is not compensated for any business transactions for this project.

How would I evaluate the program?
I think this project is a sound SAE project. Jay spends so much time on the farm that he loses track of time and misses dinner. Jay cleans stalls and calf pens, feeds and waters them, moves them and maintains records on their care. His pap sells the animals, which may be something that lends itself to an entrepreneurship SAE project sometime in the future.


What recommendations could be made for improvement?
My recommendations for improvement might be to look at transitioning this student into more money management and ownership of the operation. I think this will allow the student to end the project with and entrepreneurship SAE project.

What record books were being used?
Jay records all of his records on the AET, which I was able to review for his project. The project is graded based on the number and quality of entries and the overall direction the project is taking.