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Agriculture has changed dramatically in 100\u00a0years, but the best way to learn about it will always\u00a0be hands on. Tech\u2019s two farms serve as outdoor\u00a0classrooms where students learn to care for livestock,\u00a0manage operations and grow produce.<\/p>\n
The following photos\u00a0contain a glimpse of life on\u00a0Tech Farm in Cookeville and Millard Oakley\u2019s farm in\u00a0Livingston, which the university leases, through the\u00a0eyes of students who work and learn there.<\/p>\n\n
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At the Oakley farm, TTU students and faculty\u00a0work more than 1,000 acres.\u00a0Professor Michael Best grows tomatoes and\u00a0hydroponic basil, among other things, in three\u00a0greenhouses. Over the summer, agriculture graduates\u00a0Corie Wilson, \u201914, and Kara Brady, \u201915, helped Best\u00a0weed, pick and sell the produce at the Chattanooga\u00a0farmers market.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Best helped me so much through the years\u00a0that every time I get the chance to help him, I do,\u201d\u00a0said Wilson. \u201cAlso, you never\u00a0know when you\u2019ll learn something.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to occasional bald eagle sightings,\u00a0Brady enjoys the hydroponic greenhouse\u00a0because the smell of basil\u00a0reminds her of pasta.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor aggies, this is how you grew up,\u201d Brady said.\u00a0\u201cEven in the greenhouse, it\u2019s like picking tomatoes in\u00a0my mom and dad\u2019s garden. It feels like home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shiloh Klingler, \u201918 agriculture, is one of half a\u00a0dozen student workers at Tech Farm. They tend\u00a0to the cows, sheep and hogs; fix fences and the\u00a0farm\u2019s decades-old truck; and do \u201canything that\u2019s\u00a0necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klinger wants to be a vet for farm animals and\u00a0dogs. As a child, she was responsible for nursing sick\u00a0lambs back to health on her family\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarmers live by these animals. There\u2019s a respect\u00a0that comes with that,\u201d she said. \u201cYes, there\u2019s a profit\u00a0to live off but every decision you make affects\u00a0whether that animal is alive tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many agriculture students come to Tech with\u00a0some farming experience, but the rolling acres\u00a0are living classrooms. There, students learn about\u00a0genetics hands-on: cows with bad tempers won\u2019t\u00a0be bred, nor will pigs with a small number of teats\u00a0because farmers don\u2019t want to pass on those traits.\u00a0They learn how to run a farm and take turns working\u00a0weekends. Even when an ice storm cancelled classes\u00a0for a week, they didn\u2019t get time off.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s nice about the farm is it allows you to be\u00a0more than just in the classroom.\u201d V<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Agriculture has changed dramatically in 100\u00a0years, but the best way to learn about it will always\u00a0be hands on. Tech\u2019s two farms serve as outdoor\u00a0classrooms where students learn to care for livestock,\u00a0manage operations and grow produce. The following photos\u00a0contain a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-fall15"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1167,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863\/revisions\/1167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/visions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}