NHS junior’s summer included unique ag camp, experience

When Newton High School junior Emily Bollhoefer returned from the AgDiscovery program at Iowa State University this summer, she had been taught how to take a blood sample from a chicken.

That’s one of thousands of items covered at the two-week camp, held at the ISU campus and other Iowa farm sites from July 19 to Aug. 1. The sixth annual AgDiscovery camps, sponsored by the USDA, were held at 17 universities, and Bollhoefer was one of only 18 American high school agriculture students selected for the program from a list of 77 nationwide applicants for the ISU program.

“We covered so much stuff,” Bollhoefer said. “It was great to get know everyone, and find out where we had common interests within ag.”

Bollhoefer and NHS ag advisor James Horn had to hurriedly prepare the application and recommendation materials in the spring, so she had no idea what her chances were of being selected. She said ISU is still working on getting the word out about the program, as many advisors don’t seem to be aware of the opportunity.

The outreach program, which allowed students to stay in Eaton Hall on ISU’s campus, is designed to help high school students learn about careers in plant and animal science and wildlife management.

There were students from 12 different states in the program. Not only did Bollhoefer have to commute far less than most of the 18 students, who flew in from as far away as Miami, Florida, but also made her a sort of resident tour guide, familiar with many of the counties and farms the group toured.

The group was kept busy most of the time, rising early and taking two vans to farm sites throughout northern and central Iowa.

One of the stops was C & M Acres Alpaca Farm in Maxwell. Dealing with llamas and alpacas isn’t easy, and Bollhoefer said the photo she had taken with a llama was on the same day as one spit on her.

The group participated in a swine necropsy — basically a dissection of a baby pig that died during or shortly after birth. There were also stops at One Heart Equestrian Therapy, where students learned how much horses love to run, along with the ISU Dairy Farm and an animal rescue league.

There was even a trip to a Jasper County locale: the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City, where the group was unsuccessful in spotting any of the well-known buffalo on the day of their drive-through.

The program covered lessons in anatomy, bacteriology, hematology, parasitology, immunology, embryology, animal necropsies, epidemiology and other veterinary diagnostic procedures, with a focus on the connections between plant and animal life and their ecosystems.

Another purpose of the program is to help high-school students decide between areas of concentration if they plan on pursuing an ag degree in college. Bollhoeffer said the camp helped her determine she’d like to specialize in small animals and exotic animals.

She also said she enjoyed meeting ag students from different parts of the U.S.

“My roommate was from Arizona,” Bollhoefer said. “She said she thought it was kind of cold here.”

To learn more about the AgDiscovery program contact Sophia L. Kirby of the USDA-APHIS Office of the Administrator, Office of Civil Rights, Diversity, and Inclusion at 301-851-4192 or Sophia.L.Kirby@aphis.usda.gov.