SWANTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Every morning for the past 55 years, the animal science students at Missisquoi Valley Union High School clean, care for the animals and learn all about agriculture, hands-on.
“We get to be with the animals and do things other than just sitting in a classroom,” said Brooklynn Gervais, a sophomore.
Students learn not only how to care for the animals, but how those animals fit into the larger picture of food production.
“I think people should definitely have a better understanding of where their food comes from and how it’s processed,” said Jacob Beauregard, a sophomore.
Most of the animals are leased from local farmers, but there’s one new addition to the herd.
“We picked the heifer up last Monday,” said Elizabeth Sweet, an animal science instructor at MVU and adviser for the Future Farmers of America.
Sweet says this little Hereford cow is called Miss Pattee, named after Enosburgh farmer Renee Pattee who donated the cow to the MVU Animal Science Program.
“She wanted to make a donation in her son Colby’s remembrance, who she lost at a young age,” Sweet said.
While the livestock throughout the whole history of the program taught students things like how to care for the animals and food processing, Miss Pattee is going to be bringing a whole new set of lessons that haven’t been brought to the program before.
“When she is at breeding maturity, our students will be choosing the bull and they will breed her,” Sweet said.
Students have raised baby animals in the program before, but now they’ll be involved from the beginning to the end. When the calf is born, it will be raised by students for 16 to 18 months. Then, it will be butchered and processed, and students will sell the meat.
“I think it’s an excellent opportunity for the students. They can see the practical application of what they’ve learned in the classroom,” said James Messier, an MVU animal science instructor.
“There are things you do that [can] be uncomfortable, but that’s with anything. You have to kind of push yourself out of your boundaries and out of your comfort zone a little bit, but I think it’s definitely worth it,” said Terrell Houston, a senior at MVU and president of the MVU FFA.
As for Miss Pattee, she’ll stick around after she’s bred in September. The plan is to keep her as a breeding cow so the school can eventually have a herd of its own.
