SAE Visit 2

For my second SAE visit, I visited Senior Madelyn Hoffman at her family dairy farm. This visit was super exciting for me because I have zero experience with dairy. Coming to Lancaster County for my student teaching, it seemed completely appropriate I immerse myself in some of the local dairy. Madelyn lives and works on her family's dairy farm. While a smaller operation, Hoffman's farm has continued to be successful even during challenging times. 

Madelyn with all her besties

Looking more specifically to Madelyn's SAE project, employment at her family farm has been her project the past 4 years at Manheim Central. Madelyn is a hugely crucial member in the successful operation of the family farm; caring for animals, monitoring health, and showing livestock. 

For this SAE visit, Mrs. Anderson and I decided I visit Madelyn by myself. Mrs. Anderson provided me the student's contact information and we worked together to arrange a meeting with approval of her parents. From there, my visit was as simple as finding the farm (which proved a challenge) and chatting with Madelyn. As a student heavily involved in the Ag program, I have come to know Madelyn pretty well which contributed to my enjoyment of this visit. I found it super refreshing to complete this visit because all I had to do was listen. As an educator, it can feel like I always need to know something about agriculture. I really enjoyed listening to a student who was passionate AND knowledgeable about something I was very unfamiliar with. 

While I felt completely comfortable visiting Madelyn alone, I am unsure if in my future program this would be common practice. As Mrs. Anderson and I discussed, a lot can go wrong with a teacher visiting a student alone at their home. While I enjoy one on one time with students, I will make a point in my future program to bring another teacher/industry worker with me or require parent presence. 

Here at Manheim, every student has an SAE project which begins in their Introduction to Agriculture Science class. While in this class, students develop their SAE and ultimately use the project as their final assignment for the class. Using AET as their record book, students print out a complete report which is then carefully graded by Mrs. Anderson.

I got to see my first ever milking robot!