Lauren Ossege

AGR 126
August 22, 2016
Lab 1: Tour of Meadowbrook Farm

Tour of Meadowbrook Farm and Stateland Dairy

Beginning in 1974, Eastern Kentucky Universitys Meadowbrook Farm was established as an
environment in which practical experience[s] for the students studying agriculture or related
subjects could flourish (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). The primary purpose of this farm, as a
result, is to increase the available opportunities for students interested in the fields of
agricultural, horticultural, or pre-veterinary sciences to get an in-depth understanding of how a
real farm works. The farm allows for hands-on activities involving the beef, dairy, swine, sheep
and goat livestock operations as well as other activities involving the cultivation of corn and
other forage crops. (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). This allows for numerous research
opportunities as well as internships. For example, a student interested in beef cattle can contact
the farm manager, Charles Mark Powers (Chad), either by his email, chad.powers@eku.edu, or
by his phone number, 622-1310, to discuss how they can come out to the farm to do research
based upon their specific interest for school credit. From there, Chad would put them in contact
with other workers on the farm such as assistant farm manager, Robby Dale Estes, whose email
is robby.estes@eku.edu and whose phone number is 622-9003, assistant farm manager Kelly
Leatherman, whose email is kelly.leatherman@eku.edu, or farm director, Justin Lee McKinney,
whose email is justin.mckinney@eku.edu and phone number is 622-1310.
The farm consists of approximately 135 acres of corn, harvested mostly as silage, 130 acres
of clover-grass hay, and 325 acres of grass and grass-clover pasture. (Meadowbrook Farm,
2016). All these crops are used as tools to help students learn about cultivation and then are
ultimately preserved in Ag-Bags or silos. The Ag-Bags themselves are huge containers for the
crops. Once filled, the bags are emptied into the silos and stored for future use as feed for the
animals on the farm. Though the land looks perfect for farming, with its sloping terrain
surrounded by woods and vegetation, the soil makes it difficult to develop farmland. The soil,
known as fragipan, is very shallow with only about 18-inches of valuable, useful soil. After the
first 18-inches the farmers reach hard clumps of clay and rock that completely stop any water
from being absorbed into the remaining layers of soil. As roots of a plant need oxygen to stay
healthy and to be able to continue nourishing the growing crop, the unabsorbed water, as a result
of the clay, obstructs the roots from obtaining oxygen and suffocates them- ultimately killing the
plant. As dead plants do not make a profit, farmers looked for a solution to this problem. This
lead to the invention of a tool called a subsoiler. A subsoiler has equipment that goes down below
the layer of clay in the soil and breaks up the clumps, allowing for the previously unabsorbed
water to become absorbed and, as a result, allowing oxygen to reach the roots of the plant. This
allows for greater increase in the number of crops grown and makes farmers much more efficient
in their cultivation. However, it is key to note that a subsoiler is a very expensive piece of

equipment. Another problem with the soil in and around Meadowbrook Farm is its high acidity
levels. This is corrected by scientists or professionals coming and testing the soil and providing
solutions, such as the addition of Lime to soil.
The farm also has state-of-the-art animal facilities, with Stateland Dairy probably being the
most well-known facility on the farm. With freestall barns, the cows, a mixture of day old
heifers to mature cows of the Holstein and Brown Swiss varieties, have many amenities
(Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). One of these amenities is the availability of a water bed to lay
down on. Roughly 50 cows are milked twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. The
animals are artificially inseminated and feed a healthy TMR, otherwise known as a total mixed
ration. The TMR consists of corn silage, cottonseed, alfalfa hay, and a concentrate mixture to
balance a complete diet (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). The animals get all the required nutrients
and minerals mixed in with their rations. Another facility on the farm is the remarkable Temple
Grandin designed curved cattle corral. This elite machinery calms down the cattle by being
astonishingly quiet and efficient in containing the cattle. With this equipment it is much easier, as
ell as safer, to work with the animals. The curved style of the corral allows for a calming sense of
ease to wash over the cows and keeps them relaxed and not at all nervous. The design also
attempts to remove as much shadows as possible by placing lights above the corral. The removal
of shadows is done so cows do not get spooked by the darkness. Along with dairy cattle, the farm
also maintains a herd of roughly 150 beef cattle that are finished or backgrounded. Most cows
are bought by the farm to be backgrounded, meaning that the creatures, steers and heifers, are
purchased at around 450 pounds and are then fed a high roughage ration that is primarily corn
silage balanced for protein and mineral requirements (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). After the
animal reaches 800 pounds it is either sold out to be finished at another location or to be finished
at the farm. To finish a cow, it is first brought up to 800 pounds. Then it is fed a high grain
ration until it reaches 1200 pounds (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). However, very little cows are
finished at Meadowbrook farm. Less than 25 cows will be finished at the farm and even then will
only be finished for educational purposes (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). Finally, as explained on
the Meadowbrook Farms website, the swine operation utilizes an enclosed farrowing-nursery
unit and a modified open-front confinement finishing facility (Meadowbrook Farm, 2016). This
means the gestation cages containing the sows are innovative in allowing space for the animals
to have space to walk around rather than being contained in a specific location for the length of
the gestation period. The gestation cages are used in order to decrease the amount of piglet
deaths. As the sows are so big, if they were to roll over onto the piglets they would kill them. The
cages, therefore, contain the mother so she does not injure or kill her piglets. Additionally, the
cage provides additional safety for the workers. As the pigs are pregnant, they are in pain and
discomfort and will lash out if agitated. The cages take this into consideration and create an
environment in which the workers can do their job efficiently and safely while also making sure
the sow remains in good condition.
Overall, the managers of Meadowbrook want the farm to be an environment where students
have the opportunity to develop and learn. The location, only a 15-minute drive from the
Richmond campus, was selected in 1974 so it was easily accessible for students. Students are
wanted at the farm; they are encouraged to learn. Chad Powers will always help any student
interested in opportunities to learn about beef cattle. Kelly Leatherman and Robby Estes will also
help students discover many opportunities to become involved on the farm. They will help in
getting internships, or creating a program of research for class credit. Whatever the student

desires the farm managers and workers strive to help them achieve it. In regards to myself,
though I want to be a small animal veterinarian, I believe that the farm provides plenty of
opportunities for me to learn about the process of animal development. Though I want to be
focused on smaller animals such as cats and dogs in my professional career, I hope to be able to
obtain a summer internship on the farm working with the dairy cows. I hope to do this so I can
gain knowledge of what it takes to be in charge of a business, as I hope to one day open my own
veterinarian clinic. I also hope to get a chance to work closely with the gestation and calving
processes on the farm, as I want to be able to prepare myself for future involvement with animals
of all varieties. On the whole, I hope to take advantage of filling my rsum with a wide variety
of works, including small animals and large animals.
Website http://farms.eku.edu/ used on August 24, 2016