GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County students at Southern Guilford High School are teaming up with some baby goats.
The school is working with the goats and raising them for the Agriscience program. There are two areas of study within the Agriscience program, Animal Science and Horticulture. The course allows students to gain hands-on experience in the school greenhouses, agriculture shops and the school's barn.
The students in the program will work with the baby goats in the barn. Hailey Peeler, Animal Science teacher and FFA Advisor for Southern Guilford High School, helps lead the program.
“We just finished this barn in 2019 thanks to a grant through the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund and Senator Trudy Wade,” said Peeler. “Every year we are able to keep these does here on the property.”
The Southern Guilford Agriculture Department was able to bring in male goats to breed with the female goats. The Process generally starts in the fall, the goats arrive and by the spring they’ve been bred.
“Every year the students are here to witness the does having their babies,” said Peeler. “Back in April our first doe had a set of twins, two little boys or bucks and two weeks later our solid white doe had two babies as well.”
Peeler said the students are there for the whole process. The kids get to experience active labor and learn about what the goats need to stay healthy. Peeler believes having students in the class working with animals is better than having them watch videos.
“I think hands-on experience is a huge, huge part of students learning and even sparking their interest in fields they might not have been interested in,” Peeler said. “So, where they are able to get those hands-on skills it gives them more confidence in their ability do things like I’m never going to pick up a chicken or I’m never going mess with a goat then they come out here and do it and think that’s not that bad.”
Peeler is a big advocate for the class. She said it allows students to learn how to make money, create their own farm or it’s a job opportunity in the Animal Science Department. When students get to Southern Guilford they start with the introduction course which is AgriSciences Applications. The kids learn about animal science, horticulture, environmental science and agricultural engineering.
The other half of the course is the FFA program.
“We had over two hundred members this year, so we are able to reach out to students and develop their skills on more levels than maybe just animal science or horticulture.” Said Peeler. “When they sign up for that they can become a part of our chapter they can learn if they would rather go the animal science or the horticulture route and just kind of see where they fit and in our program, there is a place for everyone.”
