Ranchers provide more attention on livestock nutrients, than my parents did on my own nutrients!

Guest post by Clemson Montana Summer Program student Neelia Heath

Earlier this week, the group traveled to Montana State University in Bozeman with Dr. Scott. I was excited to see how a typical public university in Montana operated. Despite the 17,000 students enrolled it seemed very rural and more “agricultural” than Clemson. MSU had a lot of interesting factors that I believe Clemson has missed out of or is trying to break away from. Now don’t get me wrong, Clemson University is very equipped academically in agriculture but I feel as if MSU has went the extra mile. While Tiger students are being fed the routine packaged food from Aramark which is all the way based in Philadelphia, the Bobcats are being fed local and fresh foods being raised, grown, and processed right on the campus. MSU is focusing on sustainability and giving students a first-hand experience they can connect to. This is something that Clemson can truly benefit from. I was certainly impressed by the faculty in charge of showing us around and introducing the university to us. One of the professors really impressed me! He was into problem solving and almost made me feel guilty for not knowing simple facts about my own state, in which he replied, “That is scary!”. Which it is. If I want to be a future animal and environment conservationist, how can I not know the average person or animal per sq. mile/acre, or what about the population in South Carolina itself. These are things I should know and should start researching problems and getting involved more in my own community on these specialties. We practiced some real-life examples on a worksheet he passed out. At first, I was nervous, but we worked through it together and he taught along through each problem. I honestly learned the most and the best that way, so I was really happy on the technique he was using. We worked it out on paper so that I could relate to the “cowboy math” most ranchers knew.

The most interesting aspect was when we went to visit ranchers later on, and they would give us examples with numbers that matched exactly with the ones we used on the worksheet. I was able to connect and truly understand what this rancher was talking about because I had a visual and hands on experience. I really enjoyed visiting Fort Ellis and the wool lab, as well. I am not familiar with sheep at all. The process seemed intense, so it was only natural that I had a lot of questions. I know for sure I won’t complain about the price next time I want to buy a fleece jacket! So much washing and inspections went into wool making! Fort Ellis also had research plots where they grew organic and non-organic crops and they even released the sheep to graze on some of the plots they terminated. I was interested in hearing about a sheep farm work and decided that if I were to raise any type of livestock it would be sheep. I even saw a guard donkey for the first time I didn’t even know donkeys could be guards!

This section of the course, we didn’t just learn the rancher’s day to day activities but how it affected them and how they stayed afloat. A lot of prior knowledge and experience has to be put into play. Especially with the animal nutrition. Just this week alone, we clipped grass about four times. I had no idea so much testing and attention had to be paid to grass and forage. I just thought once we found out what a ruminant ate, that would be all to it. However, so many factors come into play and if forage isn’t enough, alternatives need to be provided like protein cakes, further lab testing, or even seeking answers from professions such as a MSU extension agent. Ranchers provide more attention on livestock nutrients, than my parents did on my own nutrients! They need healthy livestock for healthy and prospering business.