The Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity held their 10th annual Alpha Gamma Rhodeo philanthropy this past week May 8-9. Proceeds raised went to support the Oregon FFA Foundation and FFA organization in order to help pay for career development events, proficiency awards, state convention, and scholarships. This will help to develop future leaders in agriculture throughout the state of Oregon. Tuesday’s events were held at the Benton County Fairgrounds and consisted of tractor races, hay bucking, swing dancing, best daisy duke, and a milk chugging contest. After the variety of events Kappa Kappa Gamma and Theta Chi took the win. On Wednesday The Alpha Gamma Rhodeo queen pageant was held at the AGR house. Each sorority had a designated girl that would run for queen and represent their house. Events consisted of a barrel race, roping competition, interview, extemporaneous speech, and baking contest.  After the competition Rozalyn Patrick from Kappa Kappa Gamma was crowned the Alpha Gamma Rho Rhodeo Queen.

The Agricultural Executive Council hosted the annual Agricultural Awareness Day this pas week May 7-8. This year “Ag Day” was a two-day event working towards the goal of 5 days in the future. Monday started off the week with a workshop and speaking event presented by Angela Mayfield. Mayfield is a current Instructional Designer for Vivayic, and is dedicated to helping others become engaged in agriculture.  FFA and College of Agricultural Sciences students gathered in La Selles Stewart Center Monday night to learn how to promote the agricultural industry and educate others proactively on the importance it has in every day life.

The Memorial Union quad was filled with College of Agricultural Sciences students bright and early Tuesday morning preparing to share the importance of agriculture to other students and faculty on campus. This year’s Agricultural Awareness Day was based on the question of how 9 billion people will be fed in the world by the year 2050 with less farmland. Clubs within the college set up booths with tractors, animals, grass, grains, and more to exemplify the various aspects and commodities of agriculture in relation to the theme. The Young Cattleman’s Association and Dairy Club provided lunch to onlookers, as the Country Western Dance Club demonstrated line dances. This year the Agricultural Executive Council also prepared an OSU themed basket so that individuals who visited every booth could enter to win.

The Agricultural Awareness Day was a huge success, and we plan to make improvements every year in order to educate students and community members on the importance of agriculture.

The Oregon State University Intercollegiate Equestrian Team traveled to North Carolina this past week May 1-7 for the National IHSA Horse Show. The show was a four-day event held at the Raleigh Horse Complex consisting of hunt seat and western events. The western team including riders Elizabeth Whitman, Cole Newman, Katie Dovenberg, Danielle Lorenz, and Kathryn Sergeant successfully won the National Title. The team’s hard work definitely paid off making history for OSU, and being the first time ever winning an IHSA National Championship.

The Agricultural Executive Council hosted their annual industry tour this past weekend in Eastern Oregon. The tour consisted of 26 students in the College of Agricultural Sciences gaining knowledge of a variety of agricultural related industries. These tours included the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Full Sail Brewery, Thomas Angus Ranch, Oregon Trail Interpretative Center, Columbia Basin Experiment Station, Mary Hill Museum, and Cathedral Ridge Winery. It was a very successful and fun weekend, and we highly encourage students to participate next spring.

The Oregon State University Intercollegiate Equestrian Team will be holding a fundraiser April 25 at Woodstock’s Pizza. Funds will be used to help the western team and 3 Individual riders  travel to the National competition in North Carolina May 1-7. When you order a pizza and tell them you are supporting OSU IHSA some of the proceeds will be donated to the team. The event will be all day so please come and show your support. If you have any questions please contact Lea Hoover at hooverl@onid.orst.edu.

History:

The Oregon State University Sheep Club has been an unofficial club on the Oregon State campus since 1998. The club was started by a group of students interested in the sheep industry and it slowly gained popularity after its inaugural year. The club was based around a flock of student managed sheep that they were responsible for and this drew dedicated students from a variety of majors. However, since its start, the Sheep Club has faced inconsistent participation and club membership, preventing the club from gaining official recognition by Oregon State University and the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Purpose:

As of Fall 2011, a group of dedicated OSU students have been working to make the OSU Sheep Club an officially recognized club on the OSU campus. We currently have 20 members, which is a huge increase from last year’s 4. The Sheep Club aspires to provide OSU students with an opportunity to experience the activities of sheep production as it would occur at various parts of the industry on any scale of production. Activities include hoof trimmings, vaccinating, lambing, ultra sounding, etc. The Sheep Club is currently looking into opportunities to show ewe lambs once we have some available to show and enough interest is shown. The club ultimately wants to further the knowledge and skills of students wishing to be involved with sheep production and the sheep industry. We are a hands-on club that aims to get students involved with our flock and have them experience sheep production for themselves.

Events:

This year, the Sheep Club is participating in Agricultural Awareness Day on May 8, 2012. We will have a paper machete sheep along with a display posted about how sheep production contributes to other industries in “Feeding the Future”. We will have a prize wheel as well where people can answer questions about sheep and their production to win great prizes! The Sheep Club is also planning on representing OSU at the 2013 Ag Fest.

Contact Information:

The Sheep Club is always looking for new members who are interested in gaining some hands on experience with sheep. Club meetings are typically held twice a month at the OSU Sheep Center (although this is subject to availability of sheep to work on/with) and there are always opportunities available to get involved with the OSU Sheep center. For more information about Sheep Club, you can find us on Facebook (search OSU Sheep Club) or email the club at osusheepclub@gmail.com.

A film based on the Greenhorns Documentary will be shown in Gilfillan Auditorium Friday April 20, from 6-8 p.m.. The film will broadcast the lives of American farmers and the young farming community. It will also show the importance of farming and agriculture for those considering a career in the industry. After the film local farmers will be sharing their experiences and be available for answering questions.The  farmers that will be attending include Chris Hansen of Mosaic Farm, Hank Keogh of Wild Garden Seed/ Avoca Seed, Erika Dorondo of Evergreen Farm, and Rachel Prickett of Provenance Farm. For more information about the event please contact Amy Garrett at Amy.Garrett@oregonstate.edu, or Becky Rubenstrunk at ssi.outreach@oregonstate.edu.

Applications for New Professor of the Year, Professor of the Year, and Club of the Year are now online. Any student in the College of Agricultural Sciences can make a nomination for these awards by filling out the application. The Winners are selected by the Agricultural Executive Awards Committee and will be announced at the Celebrating Student Excellence Awards Night on May 23. Please submit your applications by May 11 by 5:00 p.m. to Strand 137 or they can be emailed to Thomas Griffin at griffint@onid.orst.edu.

The Agricultural Executive Council is currently accepting officer applications for the upcoming 2012- 2013 school year. The mission of Ag Exec is to promote activities within the college of Agricultural Sciences, along with acting in corporation with the  administration of CAS to further public relations  improvements to the college. Ag Exec officers work in a professional manner to serve students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and strive to be positive leaders. There are several officer positions including Executive President, Vice President, Director of Correspondence, Director of Finance, Director of Public Relations, Director of Agriculture Day, and Director of New Fields. Applications and Resumes are due Friday, May 11 by 5:00 p.m. to Thomas Griffin at griffint@onid.orst.edu.

Applications can be found on the Ag Exec website at http://agsci.oregonstate.edu/agexec.

The Oregon State University Turfgrass club spent five days attending the 2012 Golf Course Superintendants of America (GCSAA) Industry Show and Educational Conference this past winter term. The conference was held at the Las Vegas convention center and consisted of over 500 booths with vendors and a variety of speaking events including golf course maintenance, crew management, and public relations topics. The Turf Club competed in the annual Collegiate Turf bowl, which consisted of a series of complex tests. The tests are composed of grass and weed identification, equipment maintenance, business operation, budgeting, and cultural practices. There were a total of 50 schools and over 100 students competing, Oregon State having two teams that placed very well. At the trade show several OSU students were able to receive interviews with potential job opportunities. Lyle Gibbs will be interning at the Rock Creek Cattle Company’s golf course this summer in Montana, and Tyler Gabriel accepted a job as an assistant in training with Yocha DeHE Golf Club in Brooks, California. The conference was a great networking opportunity for the Oregon State students and many were pleased to see them attending. Next year the turf club will be attending the 2013 Industry Show in San Diego, California.

Sigma Alpha, the Agricultural sorority on campus will be holding spring rush April 9-20. Sigma Alpha is a professional sorority that focuses on leadership, scholarship, fellowship, and service. Activities include OWA, Ag in the classroom, Monday night meetings, and other exciting social events. Sigma Alpha rush is completely free and anyone interested in, or studying Agriculture can attend. If you would like to become more involved and make lifelong friendships the first informational meeting will be held April 9 at 7p.m. in the MU, room 206. For more information please contact Alexandra Hogansen. hogansea@onid.orst.edu.