Field-Work and Desk-Work with Maryland Extension – by Nathan Villiger

Another little heifer! She kept licking me!

During my time with the University of Maryland Extension, I have had the opportunity to try out many different types of extension work, from outreach and education, to research and statistical analysis. Of course, this has included work with mentors and on my own. My favorite by far has been any activity that gets me out in the field, be it on an educational pasture walk or collecting forage samples. 

Extension work is commonly separated into two broad branches: agricultural education and scientific research. So far, I have engaged with both sides of extension work, and enjoyed them equally. With my mentors Sara, Jeff, and Amanda, I tagged along on a pasture walk at a dairy in Washington County. This farm, owned and operated by Mr. Curvin Eby, is an organic and grass-fed operation and thus I was very interested in seeing how Mr. Eby ran things. In addition, we were joined by a group of six other farmers who have similar operations, and were there to give Mr. Eby advice on how to improve milk productivity, make better hay, and manage nutrients effectively. This group, known as the “G (for grazing) 7” was put together by my mentors, and serves as a testament to the kind of community that can be created by Extension, and how Extension agents can effectively educate farmers in a non-classroom environment. 

Continuing on the education side of things, I also sat in on one of Maryland Extension’s “Fundamentals of Beef and Cattle Production” courses, which serves as an introductory course for farmers in the beef industry. In just one day, the course touched on economics, health, reproduction, nutrition, and pasture management. Most importantly, the course concluded with a visit to Jeff’s own cattle operation, so that attendees could see these principles applied in practice. Again, extension leverages the power of the Maryland agricultural community to support progressive farming. 

In addition to education, I have also assisted with research both at extension research centers and with private farmers as well. I love the practical, data-gathering, side of research because I get to be outside engaging directly with our research subjects. My favorite research task thus far has been weighing Jersey calves as part of our ongoing colostrum feeding study at Shenandoah Jerseys in Boonsboro. Granted, this is in part due to the cute and docile nature of these little heifers but it is also great to be working hands-on with animals and learning animal research skills. We weigh the calves, and take other body measurements including heart girth, height, and body condition scores, which are then recorded for later analysis. At CMREC we are also conducting another study involving cattle, this time mature Holstein cows. Here I have learned how to use a forage stick, how to collect manure samples (something that, thankfully, I do not have to do!), and the proper method to weigh an adult cow. Again, it is also nice just to be outside and working directly with the animals. 

Though field research is my favorite part of extension work, I have also had fun working with data, the fruits of such research. Taking the time to gather data and look for trends can be really rewarding, and I also enjoy having some quieter, easier work to do in my down time. It is fun to put on a podcast and just crank out excel cells or lines of R code. However, my favorite task by far has been field research. It is where I have the most experience, and also where I feel I am most useful to my mentors. 

Two of the Jersey Heifers we had to weigh! These ones were small enough that they could just be picked up!