Animal Science Roundup is a three-day immersive program for youth grades 8-12 that have an interest in one of the following areas: beef cattle, dairy cattle, dogs, horse, poultry, sheep, or swine. Youth spend time on the Iowa State University research and teaching farms working with animals learning about health, nutrition, behavior, genetics, and reproduction.
This year there were 108 students that participated and they began the event with a program in the meat lab where they learned about the science of meat, how ground meat is processed, different types of ground meat and factors that drive consumption.
Tuesday ended with a series of workshops on antimicrobial resistance where youth learned about the following:
- Learn that antibiotics can become less effective if we do not use the tool wisely. AMR is a great example that bacteria can become resistant and will not respond to antibiotics.
- Understand that animal, plants, humans and the environment are all connected.
- Demonstrate the One Health concept and Zoonosis
- Understand the importance of a VCPR
- Understand the importance of proper disposal of antimicrobials
Wednesday students were divided into their project areas and spent time on our teaching farms doing hands on learning. They had a tour of the farms, learned about nutrition and ration formulation, processed pigs, completed health check on lambs, learned about pasture management, egg quality and dog agility and behavior.
On Thursday, students participated in an animal welfare escape room where they solved problems to try and gain the combination in order to escape from the pen.
For more information on animal science roundup and how you can participate next summer, please visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/4h/animalscienceroundup.