Lakeland students have received payment for their hard work. The Student-Managed Farm has gotten two cheques from three of their cows.
Last spring the Student-Managed Farm received their first pay cheque of $18.52. In June, the program received their second cheque for two cows. To regularly receive payment for their hard work, the program is looking into selling the cattle to a feedlot that has the qualifications. They normally sell between 40 to 70 calves.
In class Bevin Hamilton, Program Head of Animal Science, shows his students how the process works.
“We do things and say what the returns should be. So for them to actually get that return in person and see their efforts pay off, was awesome.”
Earlier this year, calves were sold from the Student-Managed Farm, which is Verified Beef Production Plus. This means that students are following rules and regulations to produce sustainable beef.
The cattle were then entered into a record keeping program TrustBIX, which is another process the students started last year. They were sent to an auction market, and bought by a Feed Mart that had to have the same qualifications as the Student-Lead Farm. Later, they were sent to a slaughter house.
For all these steps to line up properly takes hard work from everyone involved.
“Our farms on campus is student managed. They are in charge of managing their own budgets, and, so, these cheques go to off-set those costs. A, for the record keeping, and B, just for the over head costs it takes to produce the beef we are producing.” Hamilton explains.
The program is hoping to receive more cheques in the future.