Kelsie Floyd Lab 1

Kelsie Floyd
AGR 126
August 25, 2016
Lab 1

Tour of Meadowbrook Farm

Eastern Kentucky Universitys Meadowbrook Farm was established in 1974 for the
purpose of providing practical experience for the students studying agriculture or related
subjects while serving as a learning resource for the general agriculture community
(farms.eku.edu). Since the farm was established, there have been constant new developments. A
new development that is just about done is a new area to condition the beef cows. The new
addition to the farm will help the cattle be worked quietly and calmly. The overhead lights assure
the cattle wont be frightened by shadows, the metal is designed to make less noise, and they
have a new silencer. These are measures taken to keep both the animals and humans safe and as
comfortable as possible. Meadowbrook farm is a great environment for all of the animals located
there, and they are taken care of well by the staff.
On Meadowbrook Farm, there are many people on staff to keep the operations running
smoothly. The Farm Director of Meadowbrook Farm is Justin McKinney. His office is in the
Craft building, and to contact him you can email justin.mckinney@eku.edu. The Farm Manager
is Chad Powers and he can be contacted at chad.powers@eku.edu. Everyone that knows Chad
holds him in high esteem and recommends contacting him if you have any questions about the
cows, either dairy or beef. He could help teach the students everything there is to know about the
cows. For instance, he could help you understand the process to condition the cows. There are
two Assistant Farm Managers at Meadowbrook Farms, Kelly Leatherman and Robby Estes.
Kelly works with the dairy cows and would be useful as a resource if you wanted to learn about
the milking process of a dairy cow. Kelly can be contacted at kelly.leatherman@eku.edu. Robby
also works in dairy. He would be another valuable asset when wanting to learn about dairy cows,
like what they are fed, or what age they start getting milked. To contact Robby, email
robby.estes@eku.edu.
The farm has many aspects to the landscape. There are trees surrounding the borders of
the farm, and some scattered throughout the farm. Two lagoons can be found within the farm.
The ground is mostly flat land, but it rolls slightly. Large portions of the farm are pastures for the
animals to graze. The pastures could contain grass, ragweed, and other typical plants. The
grazing animals help keep the land in check. The soil on the farm tends to be more acidic
because of the wet environment. Justin McKinney checks the pH of the soil in the summer and
makes an amendment to change it. Also, the farm has a high clay and loam content. The soil is
very shallow with fragipan underneath, so that hard layer must be broken up to allow the roots to
grow deeper and to get more oxygen. The farm owns a subsoiler to break up this fragipan.
There are many crops grown of the farm. Some of the main ones are corn, alfalfa, soy
beans, orchard grass, clover, and sorghum. Most of the 135 acres of corn are harvested to make
silage. Once the crops are harvested, they are stored in AG-Bags and silos. Once the crops are

Kelsie Floyd Lab 1

stored in the AG-Bags; the AG-Bags are then stored in the silos. The baleage is stored in covered
areas around the farm. Farmers are using baleage more in the winter instead of dry hay. To help
fertilize the land, Meadowbrook Farm uses compost made on the grounds. When an animal dies,
it is placed under saw dust to decompose. After 9-12 months, the animal is completely
decomposed. The compost is then used to fertilize the crops along with manure. This process
makes the animals useful to the farm even after death, and assures that the death of an animal
will not be wasted.
Meadowbrook Farm has four existing animal facilities. These are dairy cows, beef cows,
swine, and ruminants. Courtney Sanders is an Agriculture Technician that works in the swine
unit. The swine on the farm are mostly raised to be sold in the stock yards. If students wanted to
use some of the pigs for research, the farm staff could arrange that. Another one of the animal
facilities is the dairy unit. The dairy unit consists of Holstein and Brown Swiss cattle. Holstein
cows have a higher milk production because their milk consists of more water than the Brown
Swiss, whos milk has a good protein to fat ratio. The cattle are all bread through artificial
insemination at thirteen months of age so they can start being milked at two years of age. An
additional animal facility is the beef unit. These are the cows that will be used for their meat. On
the farm there are Black Angus cattle and Charolaise cattle. The cattle are fed and grown until
they reach either 800 or 1200 pounds. Fourteen beef cattle they in the feed lot now are set aside
to go to the state fair. Finally, the last animal facility on Meadowbrook Farm is the ruminants.
The sheep flock consists of Katahdin and Suffolk cross ewes. The sheep keep the land in check.
Some multispecies grazing is used, where cows and sheep are placed in the same area. The cows
and sheep eat different things, so you can get the most out of that piece of land. Wool prices have
been decreasing and now they are very low. It costs money to sheer the sheep, but since wool
prices are so low its not worth it. The reason the farm has some Katahdin sheep is because they
dont need to be sheered. They also dont have to be castrated or have their tails chopped off.
People will actually pay for the sheep to come graze their land. Sheep are being fed and their
services are being paid for, so this maximizes profit on the sheep.
There are so many opportunities for students on Meadowbrook Farm. You can learn
about crops, swine, dairy cows, beef cows, goats, or sheep. I am personally interested in how to
care for animals since I plan on becoming a veterinarian. I can talk to the people in charge of
each of the animal facilities and ask them about what they do for the animals. Also, I plan on
observing the animals to learn their behavior during different situations. For example, when they
are sick, when they are scared, when a storm is coming, etc. Being able to read an animal based
on its behavior will be a very valuable skill if I go on to be a veterinarian. Although I am not one
hundred percent sure that I want to be a veterinarian, I will put a lot of effort into this class to
learn about animals and farm life.
In conclusion, many things are happening on Meadowbrook Farm. It is being developed
all the time, there are multiple animal facilities, and crops take up hundreds of acres of land. The
friendly staff can help students learn about the facilities or help you with research for class. The
farms main purpose is to help students with their studies, and it certainly does. Everyone there is
helpful and full of knowledge in their specific field. In order to succeed in the agriculture
program, students should take full advantage of the opportunities Meadowbrook Farm offers.
Not using the farm would be a disservice to your education.

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Works Cited
Meadowbrook Farm. (n.d.). Retrieved August 26, 2016, from http://farms.eku.edu/