Animal Science as Agriculture

Science is the study or theoretical explanation of natural phenomena.

During this time of study we are investigating the laws of nature, her principles and reasons

AgricultureOldest and most important of all sciences

Without an understanding of

agriculture all humans would be struggling for survival

Most of our comforts come as a direct result of

science.shelter foodclothing

Early people ate fruits, nuts and other seeds. They were migratory hunters

The idea of domestication came about and people began to settle down

People began to pay close attention to details

and from these details drew conclusions on where to locate and harvest their food.

Progressive scientific research in the U.S. began in the mid 1800’s at universities.

The universities were only teaching the “classics” such as Latin and Greek, History, Math and Philosophy

Soon they realized that they should include more practical hands on subject areas in their curriculum.

1862 Senator Morrill from Vermont

pushed for a bill through the U.S. Congress that would provide public land and funds for colleges that would teach practical methods of manufacturing and food production

The bill was signed by President Lincoln and the Land Grant or Morrill Act was passed into law.

1862A bill was passed which started the USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

1872 - Hatch ActWith the growing interest in agriculture, the government decided to put the new ideas for agricultural practices to work.This act set up the Experiment Stations run by the universities

Hatch ActThis act set up the Experiment Stations run by the universities

1914 - Smith Lever Set up Cooperative Extension Service

(Extension Agent, 4-H)

Land Grant Systemcomposed of universities, experiment stations, and cooperative extension service.

Land Grant SystemUniversities conduct the research, methods tested at experiment stations, brought to public by extension.

1917- Smith Hughes

established funding for vocational agriculture education programs in high schools.

Scientific Methodsystematic method of gaining knowledge through experimentation

assures that results did not occur just by chance and that something actually did cause the change.

The Scientific Method

Recognize a ProblemDevelop a HypothesisDo an experimentCollect the DataAnalyze DataDraw a conclusion

andmake a recommendation

Identify the problem to be

solvedan idea of the cause may already be present

form a hypothesisan educated guess this is a guess of what causes or might be causing the problem

conduct the experiment

experiment should test the hypothesis

Two groups to every experimentcontrol - is constant in everything except the thing being tested

experiment - contains everything that the control group does, but also contains the variable being tested

Two types of research

basic - looks at why or how processes occur in animals

applied - uses the discoveries made in basic research to help in a practical manner.

Where Search Has Led Us

Agriculture, beside medicine, is the application of almost all the research and knowledge associated with plants and animals

basic research has benefited us the most by allowing us to produce high quality protein food very efficiently

ResearchHere is a list of achievements accomplished since 1925better control of parasites and diseases and an end product that is higher is protein

productivity and efficiency

–of all species has increasedbroilers are ready for market in 7.5 weeks after only 2lbs of feed and it used to take 4lbs of feed and 15 weeks

Research The countries in North and Central America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand have only 29.9%of the worlds cattle yet produce nearly 68% of the worlds beef and veal

these are also the countries

in which nearly all of the scientific knowledge about the growing of these animals has been discovered

Milestones That Revolutionized Agriculture

1. Animal immunization–late 1800’s disease began to devastate all types of animals

–Louis Pasteur developed first method of vaccinating animals to develop immunity (1870-80’s)

serum developed

to fight anthrax from the blood of sheep that had survived a bout with the disease

serum tested in two groups

group 1 - infected with the serum and later infected with anthrax

group 2: infected with just anthraxgroup 1 lived and

group 2 died

Vaccines for other diseases

Using Pasteurs guidelines other scientists developed vaccines for other diseases

animals raised in a disease free environment can be raised more efficiently and at a much lower cost

2. Refrigeration–there was a huge need for meat preservation

–meat would spoil quicklyin the winter meat would freeze solid until the spring

meat preservative methods

saltdryingkeeping meat in a cool steam

Problems–Problems with this was that meat was less palatable and these methods were very time consuming

today we have freezers and refrigerators which utilize chemicals and compressors to condition the air and keep it cool

first attempt of meat cooling was done with huge blocks of ice being hung from the ceilings of dark rooms

Refrigerated box cars

were developed a few years later

Artificial insemination

–advancements in animals produced are achieved through the transfer of superior genes from parent to the offspring

A.I. Was developed in the 1930’s and allowed for greater and more controllable transfer of genes from superior sires

A.I. Is widely available

this is most prevalent in dairy animals

4. Embryo transferallows for genes of superior dams to be more widely used

combining ET and AI

allows producers to make rapid gains in the quality of their herds in short amounts of time at relatively low cost

5. Use of computers

–first computer was developed in the 1940’s and became an integral part of agriculture in the 1980’s

–as research moves more swiftly computers allow us to analyze information in seconds instead of weeks

And–allows us to do simulated experiments plus numerous other things

–ag usesprogeny recordsproduction recordsaccounting recordsfeed recordsmuch more

Animals Effect on Everyday Life

lives of humans have been greatly enhanced through pharmaceuticals developed from animal by-products

many routinely prescribed drugs are derived from animals

cortisone: was originally made from the gall bladder of cows and

And–can be made synthetically

–insulin: comes from the pancreas of pigs (best match) also now made synthetically

–many hormones used in treating humans

Effects on Everyday Life

animal parts can be used as replacements for humans

heart valves: have been used for about twenty years from pigs in humans

pig skin is used in treating burn patients (laid over the burnt area until new skin grows naturally

Effects on Everyday Life

the rest of the world can not come close to competing with the US agriculture

our research combined with the free enterprise system has made us #1 in the world in agricultural production