the science of maryland agriculture · 2016-03-02 · the science of maryland agriculture...

The Science of Maryland Agriculture

University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry,

national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, or gender identity or expression.

GOAL STATEMENT:Students will have a general understanding of biosecurity and work in teams to research and develop a

biosecurity plan for an assigned hypothetical livestock production facility and present a report to the class.

OBJECTIVES:• Students will define the term biosecurity.• Students will be able to make personal connections to the term biosecurity with security

measures in relation to their everyday life.• Students will research steps that producers can take to maximize biosecurity. • Students will create a biosecurity plan for a hypothetical farm.• Students will report findings to the class.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: • Healthy/Unhealthy Animal Photographs (also included as PowerPoint presentation)• Description of Unhealthy Animals Teacher Key• Agree/Disagree Activity Teacher Key• Hypothetical Livestock Production Facility Scenarios Teacher Key• “One Minute Mysteries” worksheet• Markers, Colored Pencils, etc.• Chart Paper or Poster Board

AMOUNT OF TIME TO ALLOW: 60 minutes. Extension activities will take additional time.

From viruses to bacteria, coccidia to fungi, diseases can be a problem. For this reason, it is important for facilities like schools - and even farms - to have a plan in place that details how the spread of

disease will be prevented. This set of guidelines is called a biosecurity plan. Biosecurity is a set of management practices that reduce the potential for the introduction and spread of disease-causing

organisms onto and between sites.

In schools, hand sanitizer is available for use, cafeterias follow strict food safety guidelines, and janitors clean regularly. Just like schools, farms must also implement practices that prevent disease. Disease can

spread to people and animals through contaminated food, water, housing, equipment, air, or even from the animals and people themselves. Modern biosecurity techniques are a key element in disease control,

providing a safer and healthier environment for livestock.

Since each farm is different, there is no “one size fits all” biosecurity plan. Biosecurity is a way of thinking as well as the adoption of a set of practices that farm owners, managers, and employees maintain in order to prevent the introduction of new pathogens (disease-causing organisms) into a herd and to limit the spread of already established pathogens within a herd.



10 minutes

Ask the students “what does the phrase ‘biosecurity’ mean?” To begin the discussion, ask students to think of biosecurity as the term relates to people and schools. Have students think of some other ways that we keep ourselves safe from disease in school and write them on the board (i.e. washing hands, cooking food thoroughly, Lysol wipes, etc.). Next, suggest that they apply those same specifics to livestock production and biosecurity on farms and ranches. (See sample script provided).

Have students break into small groups and use the picture cards to look at healthy and unhealthy animals. Have them discuss how you can tell if an animal is healthy or not in their groups before coming back as a class to talk about their ideas and discuss specific diseases infecting the animals pictured (provided). Also discuss how students think diseases can be spread. If desired, use the true/false activity (provided) to help discussion. Finally, have students complete “One Minute Mysteries” worksheet by providing details and telling what went wrong in each scenario.

Directions:Develop a biosecurity plan for one of the hypothetical situations provided, or refer to an actual

livestock production facility with which the students are familiar. Steps to follow:1. Divide students into groups of 2 or 3 and provide instructions for the activity. Biosecurity plans

should include items such as: isolation of incoming animals, control of human and vehicular traffic in and around the facility, changing clothes and boots after contact with livestock, and rodent, bird, and insect control.

2. Have youth draw a map of the facility that includes at least 5 biosecurity measures and indicatewhere at the facility they are to be implemented.

3. Tell students to think about where animals live and eat.



20 minutes

20 - 30 minutes

Have each group present an overview of their plan to the class. For each presentation, ask youth which parts of their plan are most important for creating a secure environment and why.

Also be sure that the following points are covered:

1. Definition of biosecurity. Biosecurity is the term used for practices that keep livestock from contracting diseases from herd mates or from livestock on other farms.

2. At least two reasons why diseased animals cost producers money.Increased mortality, reduced performance, increased medication costs.

3. Four ways diseases can travel from farm to farm. New herd additions, animal waste on boots or clothing including manure, secretions, hair, manure in or on dirty trucks, birds, rodent, insects, or by air.

1. Contact a local large-scale livestock operation, preferably poultry or swine if available. Ask them to share their biosecurity plan and how they developed it.

2. Contact a local large animal veterinarian to speak on farm biosecurity. 3. Have students think about how diseases can be transmitted via pets. 4. Have students take their research a step further to investigate bioterrorism.

Have students list possible careers in agriculture including descriptions that would relate to the topic area of this lesson plan.

Possibilities might include: • USDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)Specialist - A person that works for the United States

Department of Agriculture in a specific area like animal research. • AnimalandPlantHealthInspectionService(APHIS)Specialist - A person that works for the

USDA APHIS section in a specific area like disease prevention and traceability. • MarylandDepartmentofAgriculture(MDA)Specialist - A person that works for the Maryland

Department of Agriculture in the area of Animal Health where they do everything for checking animals for health to finding out how a disease was caused.

• FarmManager - A person that oversees all the management of a farm. • LargeProductionFarmWorker - A person that helps with the daily management of a farm from

raising crops to feeding animals. • FarmContractorToLargeLivestockOperations (i.e. chicken farms) - A person that is contracted

out to raise animals for a company. • FoodScientist - A person that preserve our food supply by assuring its flavor, color, texture,

nutritional quality, and safety• UniversityResearcher- A person that does research on a college or university campus to come

up with new ways to do things. • VeterinarianorVetTechnician - A person that diagnoses, treats, and helps prevent disease and

conditions in animals.



A pre/post test should be completed with this lesson plan. Student understanding of concepts can also be evaluated through class discussion as well as through evaluation of completed activity data sheets. Analysis/conclusion questions that are answered incorrectly by a large number of students should be addressed in a follow-up discussion.

National Biosecurity Center for Animal Health Emergencies. Security Guide for Pork Producers.<www.biosecuritycenter.org/content/biosecurity.pdf>This site includes a helpful resource containing an overview of biosecurity in a specific operation.

“Poultry Facility Biosecurity.” John B. Carey, J. Fred Prochaska, Joan S. Jeffrey. Texas Agricultural Extension Service, The Texas A&M University System. <gallus.tamu.edu/library/extpublications/l-5182.pdf>


University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, or gender identity or expression.

Name:

Date: Period:

TEACHERKey:DescriptionofUnhealthyAnimals

Use these to explain unhealthy animal picture cards students sorted.

• Conjunctivitis – Pink eye. Inflammation of the membrane in eyelid and eye. Contagious.

• WartInfestation – Usually more of an appearance problem than a physical problem. Species specific contagious, but warts normally fall off after a few months.

• PoorBodyCondition – Underweight, bones and joints showing more than they should. Not contagious unless it is a symptom of a different underlying problem.

• Mange – Caused by infestation of mites. Contagious, and one form can be spread to humans.

• BottleJaw – Hardened swelling beneath the jaw often caused by worms. Bottle jaw itself is not contagious, but worms and other parasites are.

• CaseousLymphiditis – Affected lymph nodes swell, rupture, and drain. Affects sheep and goats and is also called “abscesses.” Chronic contagious disease.

• RingWorm – Caused by fungus. More of an appearance problem than a physical problem. Contagious and can also affect humans.

• SoreMouth – Painful scabby sores on lips and gums but may be transferred to other body parts. Contagious and can also affect humans.

• Prolapse – Tissues normally inside the body turn inside out and bulge out of the body. Not contagious, but a serious health concern.

• Scrapies – Degenerative brain disease that affects sheep and goats. Results in trembling and stumbling before the animal’s ultimate demise.

• Lethargic – Lacking energy. Usually a symptom of an underlying disease.

• AtrophicRhinitis– Presents as sneezing and nasal discharge in young pigs. Nose twists, shortens, and wrinkles. Contagious.

• Hernia – A tear in the body that allows organs to move to incorrect spots. Most often needs to be surgically repaired by a veterinarian. Not contagious.



Name:

Date: Period:

TEACHERKEY:Agree/DisagreeActivityHave students all stand in a central part of the room. Determine one area of the room as the agree area and another portion of the room as the disagree area. Read one of the agree/disagree statements. Students will move to the area of the room that reflects their answer. Have students share and discuss why they agree or disagree with the statement. Repeat for all of the statements.

• Itisagoodideatowashyourhandsafteryoupetyourfriend’scatbeforeyoupetyourown.(True – Your friend’s cat could have an unknown illness that you would not want to transfer from cat to cat. It is a good health practice to wash your hands anytime after you pet an animal).

• Whenyoubringanewdoghome,itisokayforittodrinkoutofthesamewaterbowlasyourotherdog.(False — The new dog may have an illness that you are not yet aware of, and the water bowl could act to transmit the pathogen).

• Ifyounoticeyourdoghasbeenactinglikeitmightbesick,itisstillokaytotakehimtothedogpark.(False — Your dog could spread disease (even if it is only showing beginning signs of a disease) through the air or by coming in contact with an object or another dog).

• Ifanewanimallookshealthy,anditspreviousownersaiditwashealthy,there’snoneedtoquarantine(keepitseparatefromotheranimalsforaperiodoftime)it.(False — Infected/diseased animals can look perfectly healthy before signs present themselves. It is ALWAYS a good idea to keep new animals away from original animals for a period of time).

• Whenintroducinganewanimalintoaherd,itisimportanttoseparatethatanimalfromotheranimals(quarantine)onthefarm.(True — A quarantine period is a good opportunity to make sure the animal does not have any conditions that you were unaware of before it has a chance to be transmitted to the rest of the herd).

• Becausebottlejaw(thehardswellingunderthejawofgoats)isnotcontagious,itisnotimportanttoseparateanimalswhohaveitfromanimalsthatdonot.(False — Bottle jaw is caused by internal parasites or worms, which are contagious. The goat’s caretaker should worm all of the goats that may have come in contact with it and separate the affected and the unaffected until they are no longer ill).

• Soremouthisonlyadiseasethataffectssheep’smouths.(False — Sore mouth can be transmitted to other body parts that come in contact with the sores and can even be transmitted to humans).



Name:

Date: Period:

OneMinuteMysteries!Read the following scenarios and determine what went wrong and how it could have been prevented. (HINT: More than one thing may be wrong.)

• Max owns a large horse barn. He often hosts shows, and although his flyers require all of the visiting horses to be up to date on their shots, he normally does not check them. In fact, he knows some of his friends’ horses aren’t up to date, but he trusts that his friends make sure their horses are healthy before they take them anywhere. Max is also very friendly with loaning out his horse trailer and lets whoever needs to borrow it use it whenever they want. They don’t even need to clean it! He notices that his horses seem to be getting sick more often now than they did before he had shows.

• Lexi likes to walk her neighbors’ dogs to earn some extra money on the weekends. To save time, she often walks more than one at a time. She carries one portable water bowl for them on hot days, and since they all get along well they all just drink out of the same bowl. One of the dogs she walked had a runny nose, but she figured that it was just allergies and walked it like normal. A few days later, all of the dogs she walks were sick.

• Taylor owns two horses that live in a pasture by her house. They are the only horses in the area, and they never travel. However, Taylor takes lessons on horses at a different barn and often rides her friends’ horses as well. She wears the same boots with whichever horse she rides. She has one set of brushes and tack that she uses on whichever horse she is riding that day, and she only cleans the brushes when they are really dirty. Out of the blue, her normally healthy horses are coughing and have runny eyes.



Name:

Date: Period:

HypotheticalLivestockProductionFacilityScenariosConsider putting scenarios on index cards to be passed out to groups of students.

• You operate a large poultry farm that contracts with a large scale integrated chicken processing company. Your farm has three chicken houses and receives regular health inspections from the company.

• You have a small alpaca farm that focuses on selling fiber for crafts and breeding stock. You are also involved in agritourism and have frequent visitors to the farm.

• You have a small swine operation with around 80 sows (females). Your facility is in a very rural area and is more than 30 years old.

• You operate a dairy farm, milking approximately 200 cows daily. There are not many outside visitors, except for daily visits from the milk hauler, your 5 employees, and occasional visits from the veterinarian, hoof trimmer, milk inspector, and salespeople.

• You own and operate a beef farm of about 200 cattle. The cattle are in a rotational grazing pattern, spending most of their time outside. You sell breeding stock and also buy feeder calves in the spring every spring for fall re-sale.



PRE-Evaluation:DownandDirtywithBiosecurity1. How old are you? ______________

3. Are you….(Select ALL that apply.) African American/Black Asian Other Native American/Alaskan Native Hispanic/Latino White Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander

4. What type of school do you go to? (Select one.) Public school Private school Religious school (Catholic, etc.) Home school

2. Are you... (Select one.) A boy A girl

YourScienceandAgricultureOpinionsandKnowledge5. BEFOREgoingthroughtheAGsplorationProgram, please circle the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.

6. BEFOREgoingthroughtheAGsplorationProgram, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below.

StronglyDisagree Disagree Agree Strongly

Agree

I like science. 1 2 3 4

I feel that Maryland agriculture is a part of science. 1 2 3 4

Science is useful for solving everyday problems. 1 2 3 4

Maryland agriculture is beneficial to me, my family, and my community.

1 2 3 4

When I graduate from high school, I would like to have a job in agricultural science.

1 2 3 4

I can name three jobs in the agriculture industry. 1 2 3 4

None Low Medium High VeryHigh

Maryland agriculture 1 2 3 4 5

Biosecurity 1 2 3 4 5

Ways disease travels between farms 1 2 3 4 5

Practices used to keep animals healthy 1 2 3 4 5

Identifying a healthy and/or sick animal 1 2 3 4 5



POST-Evaluation:DownandDirtywithBiosecurityYourScienceandAgricultureOpinionsandKnowledge7. AFTERgoingthroughtheAGsplorationProgram, please circle the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.

8. AFTERgoingthroughtheAGsplorationProgram, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below.

9. As a result of participating in this activity, tell one new thing you will try or one thing you will find information about.

StronglyDisagree Disagree Agree Strongly

Agree

I like science. 1 2 3 4

I feel that Maryland agriculture is a part of science. 1 2 3 4

Science is useful for solving everyday problems. 1 2 3 4

Maryland agriculture is beneficial to me, my family, and my community.

1 2 3 4

When I graduate from high school, I would like to have a job in agricultural science.

1 2 3 4

I can name three jobs in the agriculture industry. 1 2 3 4









SUPPLEMENTAL-Evaluation:DownandDirtywithBiosecurityDirections: If you are teaching more than one lesson plan in one day, you may attach this to the pre/post evaluation form for the other lesson you are teaching. Please have the student fill out these during the pre and post evaluation times. In addition, only have the student fill out the post evaluation questions Q5 – Q7 at the completion of all lessons.

PRE-EvaluationBEFORE going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below.

POST-EvaluationAFTER going through the AGsploration Program, please circle your knowledge level about the topics listed below.













the science of maryland agriculture · 2016-03-02 · the science of maryland agriculture...

Documents