ACTIVITY 0005A:
Research Project for Students
THE MONTAGUE AGRISCIENCE DEPARTMENT BARN PLAN FOR
STUDENTS SAE PROJECTS
Kyle J. Fiebig
Montague Agriscience and FFA Program is fortunate to have a forty by sixty foot
barn to use for students to expand their learning opportunities as well as their SAE
projects. The following is a plan for students of all grades to use the barn for the
advancement of their projects as well as provide a positive atmosphere of learning.
The barn will be divided into three key parts. The first part will be the “Chicken
Hut.” The chicken hut consists of dividing a portion of the barn twenty by twenty-five
feet long. Sheets of thick plastic (winter pool covers) are dropped to keep the chicken
dust and smell to a minimum and out of the other two parts, which consists of fish tanks.
Inside the hut are ten pens four feet by foot feet. Each pen will hold twenty-five chickens.
One pin will be used as the control and fed a traditional chicken feed. The other nine pens
will be used for experiments on chickens that freshman will come up with in the
Zoology/Animal Science class. The chicken hut also has a vent fan that will aid in
ventilation. The barn is heated with overhead heaters but heat lamps will also be used for
heating. Automatic waters as well as manual waters will be used. The students will
experiment with different vitamins, feed proteins, and/or vaccines. The students will be
divided into groups of 3 to 5 depending on the class size. Each experiment will follow the
scientific method and then a contest will be used to see which student did the best in
presenting their findings. The top three will have the opportunity to compete in the
Agriscience student recognition program and go to state convention. All students will
compete in the State FFA Cornish game hen contest at Fowlerville. I am going to use the
Field crop ecology book to establish a composting project and explain the different
nutrient cycles that occur in the compost. As well as the role that microorganisms play in
this process
Part two of the barn is also for the freshman. They will be responsible for doing
an additional long-term experiment called “Fishes in a Box.” Through using money from
the Pauline Glassbrook FFA Grant, Montague Agriscience purchased eighteen small fish
tanks for students to do experiments on fish. These experiments can range from the
effects of artificial light on fish growth to different protein feed experiments similar to the
process used on the care of the chickens. Another possible experiment could be the
effects of different temperatures on fish growth. Each group of two students will have an
individual tank to be responsible for three to five fish. Also two tanks will be for students
to try growing fish in a salt-water environment. The same set up will be applied for
student’s projects as the procedure used for the chickens. The ultimate goal is to get more
freshmen able to attend the state convention and become more active in the Agriscience
program. The second goal of this project is to develop better ways to raise fish in a
controlled environment, chart the data, and witness the different results of the different
experiments. I am going to use the Field crop ecology book to help students understand
the importance of charting their information to inform the public of their findings.
The last part of the barn project is designated the upperclassman in the Natural
Resource and Agribusiness Management class. The natural resource class will be
responsible for testing the water and making sure all filters are working properly. Also
the last part of the barn project is the management and marketing of the fish in five eight
hundred gallon fish tanks and three three hundred gallon tanks. The students in the
Agribusiness class will develop a marketing plan for selling the fish through the
Montague FFA Fish Farm. They will also elect officers to the management of the fish
farm. The agribusiness class consists of seniors and the best way for students to learn is
by real world experiences. The students will be in charge of public relation events such as
a fish catching open house for younger people in the community and establishing a
mentoring program with younger elementary students to help weigh and calculate fish
growth. The board of directors in the Agribusiness class will also consult with the
freshman on their findings of the fish experiments, their goal is to incorporate their
experiments into the better management of the fish farm by raising them faster to market
size. The fish farm then in turn can sell fish more than once a year and increase the profit
margin.
The plan is for students to have a better understanding of an SAE project. It is
also a way for students to actually test and see the scientific method work by hands on
experiences. The students can use this plan to better their science skills and learn
practical skills that will aid them in designing their own personal profession. The variety
of projects will help Montague’s Agriscience grow and spark students’ creativity and
interest in the growing opportunities of agriculture. The plan will also strengthen
communication between the community and the Agriscience program.