farm frenzy

Credits

A WebQuest for 11th and 12th Grade Agriculture

Designed by

AJ [email protected]

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

Title Title PagePage

The The IntroductionIntroduction

The TasksThe Tasks

The ProcessThe Process

The The ResearchResearch

EvaluationEvaluation

ConclusionConclusion

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Welcome to Farm Frenzy, a WebQuest designed to expand your knowledge about farming. Along the way, you will be investigating two different industry skill sets in agriculture: crop production with different hay types and expected progeny differences (aka EPD’s) in cattle.

This WebQuest will take place in the fictional town of Sassafras, located in North Eastern Colorado in Weld County. Please remember this, because you never know when you will need this.



The TasksThe Tasks





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You each be taking on one producer in one of these areas. Student A will take on the persona of Harry (or Hally) Haliberton, a medium sized hay farmer. Student B will take on Cody (or Connie) Colibee, the owner of a small cow-calf operation and a medium sized feedlot.

While you are moving through this WebQuest, the images will help you navigate. If there is a cow or a hay belt in the lower left corner, it will take you to the top of that section.



The TasksThe Tasks





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This is the first part of a series of WebQuests surrounding production agriculture. The characters you will take on in this activity will carry over to other activities throughout the year. Please remember to put all notes from this class in your binder or on your server file so you don’t have to go back and redo activities.

Tasks



The TasksThe Tasks





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There will be two tasks to this webquest.

•Product research and supporting EPD’s•Documentation/Summary worksheet

Each student will turn in their own copy of each of these tasks and will be graded on an individual basis.

Read about each of the tasks, then click to move on to the process.

The Process



The TasksThe Tasks





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Haliberton Farms Colibee Ranch and Feedlot



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As the head of Haliberton Farms, you are in charge of selecting the crop you will have on your property for this year. In the process section, you will be given two choices for your production.

You will need to use the Product research handout to fill in your research. You will be finding out the tons per acreage for each crop, and calculating your expected yield on your farm, in addition to finding local prices and calculating which option is the more cost effective option for you.



The TasksThe Tasks





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As the head of Colibee Ranch and Feedlot, you are in charge of selecting the breeding stock that you will have bred to your cows. In the process section, you will be given two choices for your production. You will need to use the Product research handout to fill in your research. You will be researching average Estimated Progeny Differences, or EPDs.



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In addition to the research, you will also have to fill out a handout, which will help you maintain the information that you gather. It will also have important formulas that you may need throughout the activity. Make sure that this paper is kept neat and tidy if you print it out and fill it in. It is also able to be filled in as a computerized document. This will be part of your grade.



The TasksThe Tasks





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Each of you will begin this project by researching and selecting your path for the year. Don’t forget to answer the questions on the handout that is included in this.

While you are working through the research, please make sure that you are filling out the handout, as this will be the evaluation point for this project and will be used as reference for future projects.

Research



The TasksThe Tasks





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Each student will begin by completing their research that will help them select a crop to produce. You will do this by clicking below and following the links on the following pages and exploring the information provided with the help of the handouts.




The TasksThe Tasks





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As the head of Haliberton Farm, it is your responsibility to research your options for the next planting season.

You own 400 acres, paid in full, in Weld County, Colorado. You must decide between alfalfa hay and orchard grass hay. Explore each option and come to a decision. Record that decision on your handout.

Before Beginning researching the specific crops, read some background on hay production and find at least 5 pieces of information you didn’t know before. Include this on your handout.



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Click on the link to take you to more information. Please remember that your farm is in Weld County. (MAP)

• Alfalfa hay• Orchard Grass hay

Evaluation



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Alfalfa ResearchRead the article to gain background knowledge on alfalfa, with consideration about specifics to alfalfa production.

There is no need to save this document for your records unless you choose to.

Amount of hay per acre (in tons)This is the average tons per acre in counties across the nation. *Take the midpoint for the range of numbers given.*

Price per tonScroll down to Colorado and look through the hay prices for Northeastern Colorado. Currently, use Premium Large Squares as your level of production.

Save the PDF to your personal folder to turn in when you are finished.

Calculate the price per acre you would receive for your hay, as well as for all of your property. Record on the handout.



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Orchard Grass ResearchRead the article to gain background knowledge on orchard grass, with consideration about specifics to orchard grass production.

There is no need to save this document for your records unless you choose to.

Amount of hay per acre (in tons)This is the average tons per acre in counties across the nation. *Take the midpoint for the range of numbers given.

Price per tonScroll down to Colorado and look through the hay prices for Northeastern Colorado. Currently, use Premium Large Squares as your level of production.

Save the PDF to your personal folder to turn in when you are finished. (you only need to save this once)

Calculate the price per acre you would receive for your hay, as well as for all of your property. Record on the handout.



The TasksThe Tasks





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As the head of Colibee Ranch and Feedlot, it is your responsibility to research your options for the next production season.

You own 50 head of bred cows and 50 head of bred heifers, paid in full, in Weld County, Colorado. You must explore estimated progeny differences and select the breed that your cattle will have been bred to last year.

Your steers will be moved from your cow/calf operation to your feedlot operation. Heifers will be kept in the herd, sold to other producers, or moved into the feedlot to be fed out.



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Your portion of research will be learning about expected progeny differences (EPDs) and then make a decision on the bulls that will have been put with your cattle the fall before.

EPD researchAdditional EPD Research – pay attention of the definition of the types of EPDs

Use these resources to help you answer the questions on your handout pertaining to EPD’s



The TasksThe Tasks





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Your situation:

You have 50 head of bred cows and 50 head of bred heifers.

You will save the heifers produced during this season and put them back into your herd. You need to remember this, as well as consider how to lower the age that your heifers reach puberty. The herd that you have currently does not have any problems with birthing and weaning weight, or milk production.

Your steers will either be sold or moved from your cow/calf operation to your feed lot operation.

Click to continue to see potential sires for your animals



The TasksThe Tasks





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BW Acc

WW

Acc

YM Acc

MM Acc

A +2.3

.90 +38

.72 +70

.82 +19

.67

B -3.5 .70 +29

.51 +89

.76 -16 .52

C +.5 .88 +56

.66 +61

.81 +34

.68

D +4.5

.60 -10 .59 +54

.69 +21

.79

Potential Sire’s EPDsThere are multiple sires that will work for this situation. Select one that will work. This is how it is most of the time, sacrificing one characteristic for another. Remember not to single trait select. Record on your hand out which sire you chose

CEM

Acc

SCR

Acc

CW

Acc

IMF

Acc

A 1.0 .41 +.33

.34 +55

.59 .12 .20

B .26 .16 +.12

.51 -10 .45 .15 .10

C .49 .39 -.09 .43 +49

.61 .29 .19

D .91 .21 -.16 .39 +41

.41 .21 .06Evaluation



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CATEGORY 4 3 2 1Amount of Information (x2)

All topics are addressed and all questions answered with complete sentences and thoughts.

All topics are addressed and most questions answered with complete sentences and thoughts.

All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with some incomplete sentances and doesn't communicate clearly.

One or more topics were not addressed or incomplete sentances used throughout the assignment.

Quality of Information (x2)

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples as appropriate.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples as appropriate.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.

Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.

Mechanics No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.

Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors

A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.

Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Internet Use Successfully uses suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Usually able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet links and/or to navigate within these sites.

Organization Information is very organized with well-constructed answers to the questions.

Information is organized with well-constructed answers to the questions.

Information is organized, but answers to questions are not well-constructed.

The information appears to be disorganized.

Word Processing

Entire handout is generated on the computer, printed out or submited electronicall, and is tidy and unwrinkled.

Entire handout is generated on the computer, but has some handwritten corrections or is untidy when submitted.

There are large amounts of handwriting on the page, as well as very unkept appearance when submitted.

Submitted handwritten, or has an extremely unkept appearance.

Conclusion



The TasksThe Tasks





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As discussed earlier in this WebQuest, this is only one part of a larger, semester long project. Throughout this project, you have hopefully learned either about crop selection in hay production or expected progeny differences in cattle production. These skills will be connected to class through the next WebQuest project utilizing the information and decisions you have made through this WebQuest to continue on and experience what it is like to live with your decisions on the farm.



The TasksThe Tasks





Title

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Learners

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Teacher Page

Evaluation

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Conclusion

Farm Frenzy (Teacher)

A WebQuest for 11th and 12th Grade Agriculture

Designed by

AJ [email protected]

Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

Title

Introduction

Learners

Standards

Process

Resources

Credits

Teacher Page

Welcome to Farm Frenzy, a WebQuest designed for high school agriculture students. This WebQuest was developed with two different, but not contrasting, motivations. First was the Colorado State University’s Department of Education’s Class EDUC 331, an educational technology class. The second was the understanding, as an agricultural education licensure candidate, there is a large need for students to understand real world connections and not just leave learning in the classroom.

This lesson focuses on two facets of the agriculture industry, hay production and the selection of feeds through research of necessary supplies and location, as well as beef selection and the use of expected progeny differences to aid in that.

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Introduction (Teacher)

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This lesson is formulated for your upper level agriculture students (second year and higher) who have been exposed to both of these areas and have a solid grasp on critical thinking and discernment of information. They will be required to read different texts that will necessitate sifting through information for the necessary details. Students must be able to extrapolate information and synthesize information to be able to answer questions that are not directly related to the texts.

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AQU11/12.0311 & 12AQU11/12.03.05Determine proper nutrition and efficient feeding conversion products in relationship to crop selection.

IAS10.0810IAS10.08.04Understand expected progeny differences and indexes.

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Curriculum Standards (Teacher)

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To begin this activity, divide up students into groups of two. They will be working with each other for multiple activities beyond this WebQuest, so try to pair students together in a way that will make successful groups. One will be assigned to the hay production section and one will be assigned to the cattle production.

Students will be researching different options that they will be using for the record book activity/WebQuest. There is a handout that accompanies each of the sections (hay and cattle) that will help them connect what they are. It can also be useful for sharing between partners or to have in their binders for reference.

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The Process (Teacher)

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For the students who are assigned the hay section of study, they will have to read information about hay production in general and then specific information about orchard grass and alfalfa. In their WebQuest, they will have a situation giving them a location and an acreage. They will be deciding which one of the types of hay they would produce. Really, there is no right answer.

Part of their assignment will be to calculate tons per acre, price per acre and total revenue, these formulas are either pretty simple or are in the handout for students.

For students who are doing the cattle segment, they will be reading about expected progeny differences. There are a few websites given. They don’t need to read every detail, but they should get the general concepts about what EPD’s are and why they are important to the industry.

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They will get a scenario that they have to operate within for making decisions. The situation that they have is described and they have to identify which EPD’s that they have to look into. Again, the given options are all different and there isn’t a correct answer. That allows for students in the record book activity to experience different scenarios and make it their own events.

Additionally, they will be given four sires that they can pick from, trying to find a balance between the different EPD’s.

Evaluation

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[Student Page]

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The best option would be either have students link to a website to download the PowerPoint or to have it on a cd to hand out to the partner groups. With the amount of reading that they will have to do on line, they will have to spend considerable time on the computer. Having at least one computer per group would be very beneficial, but not mandatory.

Students will be utilizing lots of upper level reading, so be prepared for some questions about different language. I would suggest reading over the articles before giving the WebQuest to students. You can run the WebQuest with one teacher, but if you have a group of students who may have some difficulty with the reading, it may be wise to have someone else in the class to help with questions.

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Resources (Teacher)

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Because of this activity being the basis for future activities, their success in that activity will be based upon their success in this activity. Strongly encourage them to see the relevance to the connection to running their own farm. They need to understand how to make industry decisions, whether they go into agriculture or not.

Students will be successful as they are able to analyze the use for the different segments. They will be able to respond through the handouts, so you will have a definite piece to grade upon.

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Evaluation (Teacher)

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Evaluation (Teacher)CATEGORY 4 3 2 1

Amount of Information

(x2)

All topics are addressed and all questions answered with complete sentences and thoughts.

All topics are addressed and most questions answered with complete sentences and thoughts.

All topics are addressed, and most questions answered with some incomplete sentances and doesn't communicate clearly.

One or more topics were not addressed or incomplete sentances used throughout the assignment.

Quality of Information (x2)

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples as appropriate.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples as appropriate.

Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.

Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.

Mechanics No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.

Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors

A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.

Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Internet Use Successfully uses suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Usually able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Occasionally able to use suggested internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance.

Needs assistance or supervision to use suggested internet links and/or to navigate within these sites.

Organization Information is very organized with well-constructed answers to the questions.

Information is organized with well-constructed answers to the questions.

Information is organized, but answers to questions are not well-constructed.

The information appears to be disorganized.

Word Processing Entire handout is generated on the computer, printed out or submited electronicall, and is tidy and unwrinkled.

Entire handout is generated on the computer, but has some handwritten corrections or is untidy when submitted.

There are large amounts of handwriting on the page, as well as very unkept appearance when submitted.

Submitted handwritten, or has an extremely unkept appearance.

[Student Page]

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Teacher Page

Each of these links are pretty straight forward and each of the slides includes enough information that most students will be able to navigate through this without much assistance. The most interactive you must be with the group would be for the first part of the activity, handing out CD’s, assigning groups, etc.

Evaluation

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Teacher Script (Teacher)

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This lesson is one that builds off of previous instruction about hay and cattle production, as well as building the base for future WebQuests focused around other real life activities within the industry. So many times nowadays, students aren’t able to connect what they do in the classroom to what really goes on out in the real world. This is one option to connect the world to the classroom.

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Conclusion (Teacher)

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Teacher Page

The WebQuest Page The WebQuest Slideshare Group

All other sources and images have been linked to either in the student section or are based through Microsoft Word.

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Credits & References (Teacher)

farm frenzy

Education

research evaluation

research title page

tasks title page

process title page

product research handout

process section

feedlot title page

evaluation point