4-H effort puts focus on science

Already, the new club’s members are set to compete against others across Pennsylvania to show how well they’ve grasped their selected topic. They spent the spring researching colostrum management for dairy farmers, and since the beginning of May, presented their findings to several area agriculture groups including the Indiana County Farm Bureau.

Indiana County’s group is one of 16 teams preparing for the statewide Science of Agriculture Challenge, where four young presenters, in sixth through 12th grades, will explain their findings and demonstrate their solutions for a panel of state ag experts.

Colostrum, for starters, is a form of milk produced by cows (and all mammals) immediately after they give birth. It’s fortified with nutrients and antibodies that nursing newborns need to dramatically reduce mortality rates.

“It’s really important for a baby calf to get it to help her grow up and have immunity,” said Carol Schurman, a 4-H volunteer and mentor for the Science Challenge group. “So farmers need to manage the colostrum they get from the cows, and the kids have studied that and come up with ides for how to manage it better.”

At one of their demonstration sessions this month, the members explained how they surveyed Indiana County farmers on their colostrum handling practices. They polled dairy operators about how often and how much colostrum their newborn calves get within 24 hours of birth, how they collect and test colostrum, how they store it and what challenges and problems they face in colostrum management. In part of the survey, the 4-Hers asked if farmers would consider storing colostrum in containers labeled with bar codes that they could read with smart phones.

The youngsters explained in their presentation the economic importance of storing and delivering colostrum to newborn calves. They cited statistics on the average value of dairy cows, the sizes of herds in Pennsylvania, the calf mortality rates and cash savings farmers could achieve if they assured that every calf got enough colostrum in its first day.

Schurman said the 4-H members used responses from 21 dairy operators in Indiana, Armstrong, Cambria and Westmoreland counties to identify the management problems that farmers face. Storing surplus high-quality colostrum and having it ready at a moment’s notice for future newborn calves was one of the most common problems that the farmers reported.

The 4-H youngsters brainstormed improvements for freezing, storing and thawing colostrum, and designed kits to distribute to dairy farms including easy-to-thaw storage containers and testing instruments.

Their procedures, Schurman said, including a visit to the Southwestern Pennsylvania farmers Dairy Day event, where they made contacts with 75 to 100 dairy operators and sought donations for the materials to stock the colostrum kits.

None of the 4-H members are from dairy farm families. They said their other interests in 4-H include beef, goats, forestry and pigs, and said they were motivated to join the new club because of their interest in STEM (science, technology, mathematics and engineering) topics.

Final judging is coming soon for the Indiana County 4-H Science of Agriculture Challenge team. The state competition is scheduled for June 7 to 9 in State College.

“This team experience will draw together the 4-H program, agricultural business partners, and post-secondary institutions to create experiences for a 21st Century workforce by investing in our youth,” according to the Penn State Extension Service website.

A lot is at stake for the team members. Scholarship cash will be awarded to the top three teams: $1,000 per member for first place, $750 per member for second place and $500 for each on the third-place team.

Youngsters on the Indiana County team prepared for the contest by holding at least 25 practice sessions, taking feedback from various groups that heard their presentations and then polishing their delivery.

“This is something very different. We’re a really young team, with younger kids, but we’re really trying to get out into the community and share the ideas,” Schurman said.