Where Lakeland College can take you

 After my excitment of getting accepted to Lakeland College in the Animal Science Technology (AST) diploma, I had many people asking me, "Well what kind of career can you get with this education?" Many people were under the impression that this was a school to make a farmer, but it is much more than that. 

In order to truly tell you what you can do with a diploma in Animal Science, I have asked five of my thirty six classmates three questions; give me a bit of background and why you chose Lakeland, what is your favorite aspect of the AST program, and what are your future plans.

Brianna Baghsaw came from the very very small town of Birsay, SK. (Don't feel bad if you need to google map it to find out where it is, I did). She is a 5th generation mixed operation farmer, including grain and cattle. Brianna chose Lakeland because a friend from 4-H attended and absolutely loved her time there. She was able to convince Brianna to attend. The small class sizes made the decision final for Brianna, as it was an easy step from her small high school. Her favourite part of the AST program is all the hands on experience. "It's not all book work, you get to learn to do by doing, not just watching or reading about it!"

Brianna's summer will involve lots of fleece at the Elbow Multi Species project at Elbow,Sk. Her duties will include moving sheep and goats with her dog, Lacey, and horses during the grazing season. She will also be doing some fencing and kidding the goats. Brianna plans to stay involved in agriculture for the rest of her life. 

Brianna and Lacey

Brooke Lowes came from a large cow-calf operation of approximately 1700 head and 3000 acres at McAuley, MB.  She chose Lakeland because she wanted to do something with agriculture, and the university that she was attending did not offer an ag program. Brooke also liked that Lakeland also offers the hands on aspect in the Student Managed Farm, which isn't offered anywhere else.

"I enjoy how the teachers that teach you aren't just people who don't care to get to know your name or treat you as a number. They all have left industry jobs to come and teach the younger generations. They all have great passion for what they have done in industry which allows you as students to also develop passion as well as great industry contacts."

This summer Brooke will be returning home to the farm, where she will be calving the cows, artificially inseminating approximately 400 heifers and helping with their custom silage operation. In September, Brooke will be returning to school at either University of Manitoba or University of Saskatchewan to work towards her Bachelors in Animal Science.

Brooke roping calves at home.

Riley Isaacson came from a mixed farming operation near Viscount, SK. He chose Lakeland because of recommendations from friends who have attended. His favorite aspect was the environment created by people that go to school here and the fun that happens in addition to all the learning. This summer Riley will be working at a community pasture along the Montana border in Saskatchewan. His duties will include working on a 108 section, or 432 quarters, pasture with 5 horses. Riley will ride to rotate cows and rope sick cattle to treat them, as well as check fences. This position is part of the PFRA program.

Riley analyzing  pasture land.

Carolynne Vallee grew up in small oil town Bonnyville, AB. Her love for horses, animals and the outdoors contributes immensely to who she is and what she does. Carolynne chose Lakeland College because it was a school where she has the opportunity to work hands on with livestock and meet people from the agriculture industry.

Her favorite aspect of the Lakeland College AST program is how much hands on experience there is to gain and how tight-knit all the ag students are. Carolynne added that moving away from home for the first time is pretty intimidating. However, being a student in the AST program is like being part of a family. She also enjoys the small class sizes and the close student-teacher relationships.

This summer Carolynne will be working at the Lakeland Agricultural Research Association in Bonnyville. Aside from working, she will also be coaching the advanced drill team in her home town. In the fall Carolynne will be transferring to University of Alberta to finish her degree in Animal Science as well as complete her pre-requisites for vet school. Her long term plan is to get accepted to veterinary medicine where she plans on specializing in large animal practices and focus on equine medicine. Carolynne's dream is to own a practice in a rural area and make a career out of working with large animals.

Carolynne with her two favorite animals.

James Harbers traveled all the way from Iroquois, ON to attend Lakeland College. The reasoning behind this was to gain as much hands on experience he could in the agriculture industry. James grew up on his family's dairy farm, and became the President for the Lakeland College Dairy Club this past year. James found himself a part time job while in Vermilion, working for a grain farmer. James stayed in town this last summer to work at this farm, and he will be staying until Christmas this year to help out before returning to Ontario. 

James testing some college feed with fellow students. 

As you can see, the AST program at  Lakeland College can take you many places, including further education opportunities, working in government research stations or even just going back to the family farm. Lakeland College provides its graduates with great hands on experience that lets them live the learning, as well as providing excellent industry professionals to help the learning process. 

A new decade

Well, its official folks. I am no longer a teenager as of 4:20 a.m yesterday morning. With a new decade of my life starting, I though I would make some new goals and do some new things.

First things first, I must "rename" my blog-. I have decided to leave the same URL (to avoid making new business cards), but change the title. The second thing was to give my blog a  facelift. I kept the same concept, just changed some font and color choices. I think it looks a tad more sophisticated :)

I also thought I could take a moment and look back on my life, see what I have accomplished and maybe make a few new goals for this upcoming decade, or a "Bucket list" of sorts.

So a few things I have accomplished in my first 19 years of life:

-Won Grand Champion Steer at a cattle show.
- Finalist in Alberta 4-H Provincal Public Speaking
-Travelled to Japan for a month on my own.
-Travelled to Italy and Vatican City.
- Won a selections trip from Alberta 4-H (National Citizenship Seminar 2011)
- Accepted (and soon to complete) an agricultural diploma. (Animal Science)
- Travelled to Nashville, TN, and went to the Grand Ole Opry.
- Attended the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO.
- Became an agvocate, and started a blog.
-Achieved my Platinum Award of Excellence with Alberta 4-H.
-Accepted to the University of Lethbridge to complete my degree.
-Elected as the President for the Lakeland College Students' Association-Vermilion campus.
-Accepted to interview for the Cattlemens Young Leaders mentorship program. 


Wow, when you put it down on paper it seems like so much more. So this has got me thinking about some things I would like to complete in the future:

- Be accepted into the Cattlemens Young Leaders mentorship program.
-Apply to University of Calgary to get my Vetrenarian Medicine degree.
-Travel to Costa Rica to do a Vet Tech program.
-Go on an Alaskian Cruise.
- Become a Professional Agrologist with the Alberta Insitute of Agrologists
 -Attend a championship sports event (Grey Cup, Stanley Cup, etc).
-  Gain my 3 and 5 year leader pins with Alberta 4-H.
- Get $20,000 in scholarships (already at $18,350- not much more to go!!!!!!!)


I am very happy with the first 2 decades of my life, and I can not wait to see what this next decade has in store for me.

Born in the wrong town.

Some people are old souls, and claim they were born in the wrong decade, as they believe they would have been more comfortable with different fashion trends and music. Other people were born in the wrong town, thinking they would much rather enjoy a life either with the big city lights, or the stars above their cattle pastures. This post is about a girl who was born in the wrong town.

Going to college or university is about stepping outside of your comfort zone and finding out who and what you are going to be. My friend Thea Reed, did just that by attending Lakeland College and taking Animal Science Technology.

Thea was born in Squamish, BC, and spent practically her whole life there. For those of you who do not know where that is, you can find her hometown nestled between Vancouver and Whistler. Typically, this town isn't home to many aspiring agricultural professionals, except one.

Out in Manitoba, her aunt runs a feedlot, which got Thea started on her love for everything cows.

This is just a taste of her cow inspired room.

After applying to come to school in September 2010, Thea applied to work on the college farm for the summer of 2010, to help herself gain more knowledge on everything farming. Most people would never travel over 1500km away from home to start a new adventure like this. This is why I am amazed by this girl, stepping outside of her comfort zone, knowing this is what she wants to do for the rest of her life.

Almost 1500km away from home.

Working at the college farm that summer, Thea was finally able to purchase her first real cow to call her own. She bought a Jersey steer, and named him Stetson. As you can tell from the picture below, there was a lot of love between her and this little steer. Everyone that Christmas got Christmas cards, from Thea and Stetson.

Merry Christmas! Love, Thea and Stetson

There is a bond between a girl and her cow.

Somewhere along the ride of college, she began a love for the breed of Minature Herefords, which of course caught a lot of slack from our classmates. This did not, and still has not diminished her dream of becoming a miniature Hereford breeder. After starting Lakeland, Thea got involved in the Stockman's Club The club's purpose is to bring together students who are interested in the future of the cattle industry, while going to shows as well as exhibiting cattle. Thea was given the opportunity to travel to Denver, CO to attend the National Western Stockshow with the club. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for everyone on this trip. We spent about 4 days touring the barns at the show and learning about the "odd" breeds of cattle that are not your typical top contenders. There was a great attendance from the Minature Hereford breeders in America, and helped make Thea's dream much more concrete.

Thea posing with a Minature Hereford in Denver.

Another dream of Thea's was be an exhibitor of cattle at a cattle show. She did not care where, or with who's cattle, she just wanted to try it. This past Saturday at the Lakeland College Stockman's Club Little Royal Steer and Heifer Jackpot Show, her dream came true. On show morning, Thea came up to me and you could tell she was very nervous as this would be her very first time in the show ring, and asked, "Weren't you nervous your first time showing?" In which I answered, "Probably, but I was 11 years old, so I don't really remember." Which got me thinking, how much passion and drive she had to do this for her first time at the ripe age of 20. Everyone she was competing with had been showing for years, which only made her nerves run higher. However, you would have never known this watching her in the ring from the stands. She knew exactly how to set up her animal, where to rub it's belly to keep it calm, and her heifer was the only one who stood still throughout the entire class. This has got to say something about her love for all things cow.  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Thea and her heifer won second place in their class!!

Thea exhibiting one of Lakeland College's heifers.
Photo credit: Cathy McKenzie

I am amazed by the passion and determination Thea exhibits when it comes to agriculture. Coming from a town where cow was simply a term used when talking about a steak or a glass of milk, she has found her home. I am confident that Thea will become a great Minature Hereford breeder, and an advocate for agriculture, I also believe she is a prime example of following your heart to do what you love, even if it does mean moving 1500km away from home.

Lambing & Calving 2012

Sorry for my lack of posting guys! Things have been crazy around the Lakeland College Student Managed Farm powered by New Holland. We are in the tail end of our calving season, and our lambing season is underway!

As part of my cow-calf management class, we must do the calving checks throughout the calving season. We start with one 24 hour check, and then move to 48 hours shifts. There is 5 groups with 5-6 students in each group. This class is offered for second year students, however as part the first year reproductive class, the lab portion requires them to do some calving checks as well. We do checks every 3 hours, unless it is below -20 degrees Celsius, then we check every 2 hours.

Black angus calf born Feb 9, 2012

My Student Managed Farm class requires each student to choose a team to be a part of. Our choices were the dairy, beef or sheep teams. I chose the sheep team because I wanted to gain more experience within the sheep industry. As part of this class, we must be on call for the first year sheep production students, who have to do the regular checks everyday. Their check schedule is 24 hour shifts, with one 48 hour weekend shift. They also check every 3 hours, unless it is below -20 degrees Celsius, then every 2 hours. For the second year Sheep Team, we are there to aid in any complications that arise, and be there to advise at chores with the lamb processing.

 

A commercial lamb born March 8, 2012

As you may start to notice, I have a lot more pictures from the lambing barn. What can I say, they are a little cuter and easier to photograph.

One of many sets of twins

One of our excellent mothers

As with any sheep operation, there comes a few orphans. This year, to date we have 20 orphan lambs that need to be bottle fed 4 times per day. They are fed at 1am, 7am, 1pm and 7pm. We have students that are our orphan managers that oversee the lambs health to ensure they are being fed appropriate amounts at each feeding. We typically try to foster the lambs to mothers who have lost their babies. If there are no mothers to take fosters, we have to orphan them if the ewe doesn't have enough milk to feed all her babies, or is not accepting the babies.

Our orphans drinking from a pail.

Overall, we have been crazy busy on the farm in the last few weeks. I hope this post makes up for my lack of posting!