73 Engaging youth through bovine reproductive practices

Abstract Two programs have been established at Virginia Tech with the purpose of engaging youth and showcasing agriculture. The Governor’s School for Agriculture (GSA) program began in 2001, and has over 1,850 graduates. High school juniors and seniors from different areas of the Commonwealth’s schools spend time on campus exploring the life sciences. The Virginia 4-H State Congress (4HC) is the premier, statewide annual 4-H event for outstanding teens, providing educational experiences to Virginia teens and helping them develop life skills and leadership abilities. Our extension group has focused on exposing teens enrolled in the GSA and 4HC to beef production, particularly bovine reproduction and reproductive biotechnologies. The 4-hr workshop, titled “Do it yourself cows”, consists of a mixture of in-class presentations and hands-on laboratories relating to bovine reproductive anatomy and physiology and reproductive biotechnologies. The wet-laboratory consists of bovine female reproductive tracts anatomy dissection and artificial insemination and rectal palpation simulation with a mannequin, as well as demonstrations of equipment used in the field including, nitrogen tank for semen storage, ultrasound and microscope visualization of bovine embryos. The GSA “Bovine Reproduction” course is 4 days long and allows for in-depth discussion of factors influencing fertility and case discussions on beef reproductive management. The hands-on portion of this course is similar to the 4HC workshop, however students are able to perform rectal palpation and ultrasonography in cattle. So far, 40 students from the GSA and 80 students from the 4HC (2 GSA, and 4 4HC programs) have graduated in the course. At the completion of both programs, a survey was performed and 100% of the students considered the program positive and gained knowledge and interest in bovine reproduction. Furthermore, 20% of students from the GSA program developed a desire to pursue a career in livestock production, and 92% of 4HC students claimed to have learned information they can apply in their communities. Our data indicate that we were successful in engaging youth in animal agriculture, specifically beef production.