Faculty Directions, Spring 2005 - Clemson Farms Get Wired!
Glenn Birrenkott & Brian BoltDepartment of Animal and Veterinary Science
Imagine this: One of Clemsons beef cattle walks into the Brick Barn, an off-campus site used for hands-on learning by Animal and Veterinary Science (AVS) and other Clemson programs. The animals weight, temperature, and other important data are broadcast electronically to students' laptops where they analyze the data in specialized software and then submit reports to their professors via Blackboard
Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal to those who teach only on campus where wireless connectivity for laptops is expected and is almost the standard. Indeed, AVS Profs. Glenn Birrenkott, Jean Bertrand, Brian Bolt, and Kristine Vernon already actively participate in the ETS-OTEI Laptop Faculty Development Program, use laptops in freshman courses, and are preparing sophomore, junior and senior level laptop courses in livestock production, management, nutrition, physiology and reproduction.
The Morgan Poultry Farm will be the
first CU animal farm with fiber optic
cable installed for internet connectivity.
However, the on-campus component of the AVS undergraduate curricula is only a small portion of the total educational experience. The 275 AVS undergraduates come from over 20 states to participate in our hands-on laboratories. Many of these learning experiences occur at Clemson University's five animal farms: beef cattle, dairy cattle, equine, swine and poultry. AVS professors' and students' efforts to integrate computer technology into the curricula have been limited because off-campus sites lack high-speed Internet connectivity.
In addition to hindering teaching and learning, the lack of high-speed Internet connectivity on the farms adversely affects farm management.
The farms are managed by Johnny Jordan and Garland Veasey with assistance from individual farm managers. With only a single modem connection per farm, employees cannot routinely check their email, file annual or sick leave requests and file online animal use protocols. This situation slows the interaction of faculty and the farm management office and slows the transmission of research data to campus and the making of electronic data backups
Fall 2003, Birrenkott gave members of his laptop pedagogy group a tour of the farms, which included a chance to observe Bolt and his students "in class"on the farm, as well as an opportunity to talk with students about how they would use technology on the farms if they could.
While the obstacles to achieving high-speed Internet connectivity on the farms were clear, the farm tour made equally clear the huge benefits that would result if we could figure out how to make it happen.
Brian Bolt lectures on beef cattle
evaluation at the CU farm where
student use traditional paper and pen
-- but not for long. The CU animal farms
are scheduled for fiber optic cable
installation.
In July 2004, representatives of CCIT, the farms, AVS, and the computer consultants from CAFLS ( College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences) and PSA (Public Service Activities) met to discuss the situation. The various needs for high-speed Internet access to the farms were listed. New items included farm Webcams, extension activities on the farms and Garrison Arena, undergraduate and graduate research projects and animal identification and tracking systems. The latter item is very important as the USDA is going to require "cradle to the grave" identification of livestock. This will be done with RFID (radio frequency identification) implants or ear tags and is a technology that we and other land grant universities need to incorporate into our extension and teaching programs.
Funding sources may include the USDA, E&G (education and general) budget, lab fees, and the PSA budget. Funding from private and alumni giving and grants also will be pursued.
Based on the perceived ease of installing the cable, a prioritized list of the animal farm units scheduled for high-speed Internet access was agreed upon:
- Morgan Poultry Center's environmental building and the rest of the poultry farm
- LaMaster Dairy farm
- "Garrision Complex," which includes the Garrison Arena and two animal farms (the equine and Starkey swine centers).
- Brick Barn
- Beef unit at the Simpson Experiment Station in Pendleton
We hope that the first phase of this unique project that began as a dream one year ago will be completed and functional in early 2005. The AVS department and Provost have secured funding for LCD projectors at each of the animal farms. The AVS faculty and the animal farm management team are working together to integrate beef and swine management software with electronic readings of electronic ID tags and chuteside acquisition of weight and other data. The software and hardware have been purchased or donated and will be used in the spring semester in some of the AVS labs.
We thank the many people who have contributed to getting this project off the ground. Carla Rathbone and Barbara Weaver from ETS and Chandler Robinson and Charles Breece from Network Services have provided important links to the expertise at CCIT. The PSA farm management administration of Johnny Jordan and Garland Veasey has provided moral and logistical support for this endeavor. The computer consultants for PSA, CAFLS and the animal farms (Ken Pruitt and Greg Bishop) have served as an important link between end users and the CCIT team.
Wiring the animal farms will enhance the research, teaching and extension activities of the AVS department as well as the departments of agricultural engineering and mechanization, agricultural economics, biological sciences, and environmental toxicology.