Limestone students bond with bull calf

Aug. 25—From raising pigs to a baby calf, tilapia and several loud chickens, students in the Advanced Agriculture program in Limestone County Schools are continuing to learn how to manage livestock, and teacher Lauren Graham said the program just keeps growing.

"We've got about 55 to 60 students in the program this year, which doubled from last year," Graham said.

Last Thursday their bull calf, a 3-week-old angus crossbreed named Buddy, stumbled out of his little shelter to receive powdered calf milk three students had waiting for him.

Graham obtained Buddy when he was just a week old from a farm in Cullman.

Tanner juniors Tre'J Lett and K.C. Hale are in the agriculture program for the first time and said their goal is to train Buddy to become more accustomed to human beings. Hale said his love for gardening drew him into the district's agriculture program this year.

They feed Buddy four pints of the calf milk once in the morning and once after school.

Tanner junior Sierra Vo said when Buddy first arrived almost three weeks ago at just a few days old, he would only stay in his shelter.

"He would stay in there at first and we would get him out to try to get him used to the environment," Vo said.

Since day one, Vo has been teaching Buddy commands and how to respond to humans when they call for him.

"(Wednesday) he actually came straight up to me for the first time when I called him," Vo said.

Vo said she also heard him moo for the first time Tuesday morning and now he moos frequently to excited children who come over to visit him from the elementary school.

Graham said she does not know whether they will keep Buddy on Tanner's campus after he matures.

"Technically, there's no reason (to keep him)," Graham said. "In reality, the best thing would be to castrate him and when he gets up to 1,200 pounds to go ahead and slaughter him. That's still up in the air though. He could live a happy life and not have to be slaughtered."

Graham said if Buddy does go to the slaughterhouse, she and her students will be able to sell the meat and proceeds will go to the agriculture program.

In addition to cattle, the students are also raising chickens in their chicken coop they've built themselves.

"My grandparents raise chickens so I've worked with animals before," Lett said.

Lett said as long as there is enough chicken feed and water in their coops, raising chickens was "pretty easy."

Graham said students involved in the Advanced Agriculture program, which includes Limestone County and Athens City schools, receive college credit.

"We do landscape design and management and beef quality assurance," Graham said. "Those are the two (credentials) they get in my program. We actually do beef quality assurance and pork quality assurance but the pork is not a credential anymore."

Graham said her students also receive a science course credit while they are in the program.

"They don't have to take as many (science classes) at their home school because my animal biotechnology and plant biotechnology class counts as a science credit for them," Graham said.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.