SELF-GUIDED ANIMAL NUTRITION CENTER TOUR

Directions – from Highland Drive, turn onto Mt. Bishop Road.  Go past the vet clinic and dairy.  Turn right on Stenner Creek Road, past the Poultry Unit.  The ANC is on your right. Tour the new state of the art equipment and feeding technologies utilized in the Animal Nutrition Center. Identify and discuss bulk commodities. Discuss HACCP protocols in a feed mill setting. Share the research value of the mill to other programs in the Animal Science Department such as Beef, Swine and Equine.

BEEF CENTER TOUR AND ACTIVTIES

Directions: From San Luis Obispo travel North on Hwy 1 to the light at Cuesta College, turn right toward the County Schools building and follow the road to the Beef Center

The Beef Cattle Program spans over 4,000 acres on the Cal Poly campus. 250 cows and calves are maintained utilizing enterprise projects and student involvement at the highest level.  Each year over 200 students participate in beef enterprises, such as the calving, artificial insemination, Swanton Pacific Ranch stocker cattle, Escuela Cow/Calf and the Bull Test.  They are able to gain “real-world” experience through these enterprises

The Beef Center hosted its first Bull Test in 2006 after more than $ 5 million dollars was spent in   the relocation of the Bull Test facility from its former on-campus location.  Now this center provides a tremendous infrastructure to the Escuela and Walters Ranches where students are able to participate in a “state of the art” cattle breeding and grazing operation.  More than $500,000 dollars has been invested in our improved grazing program on these ranches during the past decade with majority of this money coming from grants and research projects.

 

 

Activities:

Come preview the sale offering of over 125 bulls for the 56th Annual Bull Test sale which will be held on Sunday, October 7th.  You will see some of the finest genetics offered for sale in California which represents the “best of the best”.  Each year top producers in the west consign their top bulls to Cal Poly where only the best bulls sell in our annual sale. See displays highlighting student enterprise projects, resource management improvement projects and many more.   Many of our beef students will be available to share their experiences in our current program.

EQUINE CENTER TOUR AND ACTIVTIES

Directions:  From Highland Drive travel on campus to the Farm Shop, turn left on Via Carta.  Come to the top of the hill.  Parking will be on your left before you get to the unit.  There is no vehicle access to the unit itself.  You must be able to walk some distance to see all the activities.

The Cal Poly Equine Center has been providing students with a "Learn By Doing" experience centered around horse husbandry for 110 years.  The Equine Program gives students the opportunity to learn and grow in various areas of the equine industry by using our Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred horse herds.  Students are involved in all aspects of the Equine Center, including daily care and maintenance, breeding, foaling, assisted reproductive technologies, training, riding, sales, and marketing.  Come tour our facilities, including 6 barns, 2 riding arenas, and our breeding shed and learn about the various courses and enterprises that students participate in. 

ACTIVITIES

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Advances in Equine Reproduction - View a short presentation about the exciting new assisted reproductive technologies that the Cal Poly Equine Center is now offering and chat with students about their personal experiences in this field (Repro Barn).

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Weanling Training Demonstration - View a weanling halter training demonstration by students in the Equine Behavior and Training class and learn about the opportunities that students have in regards to foaling out mares and training young horses(Courtyard in front of the 13- stall barn)

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Thoroughbred Enterprise Presentation - View a short presentation about the Thoroughbred Enterprise and meet students who are currently involved (Repro Barn)

1:00 - 3:30 pm - Equine Nutrition Research Demonstration - Learn about our equine nutrition research team by viewing various sample collection methods and discussing recent areas of research with equine nutrition with our students (40 - stall horse barn)

1:00 - 3:30 pm - You be the judge!  The Cal Poly Horse Judging Team will give you the opportunity to test your knowledge of horse judging by placing a mock class of halter horses. The team will also provide an official evaluation of the horses and a demonstration of oral reasons.  The mock class will be held every 30 minutes beginning at 1:00 pm (Hadley Arena)

1:00 - 2:00 pm - Horseback riding demo by the Intermediate Riding Class (Round Arena)

2:00 - 2:45 pm - Horseback riding demo by the Cal Poly Equestrian Team (Hadley Arena)

2:45 - 3:30 pm - Horseback riding demo by the Cal Poly Dressage Team (Hadley Arena)

 

EQUINE REPRODUCTION TOUR

Building 10   Room 102 and Equine Center Breeding Laboratory

(SEE DIRECTIONS TO EQUINE CENTER)

Due to close associations with private specialized veterinarians, the equine center has recently initiated a clinical program in assisted reproduction technology. Current services include breeding soundness exams for stallions and mares, artificial insemination, embryo transfer, embryo and semen cryopreservation (freezing), and advanced procedures like embryo gender determination, oocyte transfer and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Cal Poly is one of the three universities in the world to offer such advanced procedures. Our students are involved and essential in the everyday activities of the program and care of our patients. Pass by the equine unit and get introduced to this unique program.

J AND G LAU MEAT PROCESSING CENTER TOUR AND ACTIVITIES

Directions: From  Hwy 1 -Turn on to Stenner Creek Road (just past the Crops House on your right), travel a quarter mile, plant is on the left .  From Highland Drive, turn on to Mount Bishop Road.  Go Past the Dairy, past the BCEC, turn right on Stenner Creek Road.  Plant is up the road on the left.

Meat Science and Processing is a growing and important field of study that has significant career opportunities for students studying Animal and Food Science.  Come and see the newest and most modern University Meat Processing Center (MPC) in the country.  This exceptional facility has specialized rooms for red meat and poultry harvest, further processing, thermal processing, processing kitchen, dedicated ready-to-eat packaging and a food safety laboratory.  This State of the Art facility was designed with food safety in mind and built to provide an exceptional and technically superior learning environment for Cal Poly students.  The MPC is just the latest in a series of upgrades to the Cal Poly animal science facilities.    

Please plan on visiting our newest facility and interact with Cal Poly students.  We will have opportunities for you to participate in hand washing sanitation demonstrations, watch our Meat Lab Crew linking fresh sausage and sample products from our Smokehouses.  Come and enjoy this unique opportunity to see what happens in a USDA Inspected Meat Processing facility. 

POULTRY UNIT TOUR

Directions:  From Hwy 1 turn right on Stenner Creek Road just past the Crops house. The facility is on your right.  Parking in the front of the building and along the road is permitted.

Things to see:

• Hatchery
• Broiler House – see 6000 week old chicks
• Quail Colony – Quail Enterprise
• Layer House – see 4500 layers
• Egg Processing Room

RANGELAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY

Held in Horse Canyon above the Horse Unit You must be able to walk some distance to see    the Horse Unit activities.  Parking is on the left as you come up Via Carta Road.
Test your GPS skills with a cross-country navigation course!
Learn basic range pasture plant types in the “find the least similar plants” activity and plant talk around the Indonesia pond.
Learn how to estimate how much pasture it takes to feed a horse.  Join a Short talk and field exercise in biomass sampling methods and applied equine nutrition.

REPTILE HUSBANDRY FACILITY TOUR

SWINE CENTER – From Highland Road, travel to the Farm Shop and follow the road as it turns into Via Carta go past the old Beef Unit on your right.  Turn left on Sports Complex Road and follow it to the end of the road.  Parking is available at the swine unit.

1 to 3:30 PM -  Reptile Husbandry Enterprise Demonstration

Interact with students that practice year-round, science-based animal husbandry with our colony of 18 South African leopard tortoises. Housed in one of our ‘repurposed’ swine barns, this one-of-a-kind hands-on learning experience introduces students to management of research animals, data collection, as well as broader issues of biosecurity, record keeping, and integrated pest management. Learn about ongoing partnerships with industry, and how these animals and our students are advancing improvements in animal nutrition, health and behavior (Swine Center).

SHEEP UNIT TOUR

Directions: Travel North on Hwy from Cal Poly. Pass Stenner Creek Road, travel about another quarter mile and the entrance is on the right at the Old Cheda Dairy.  You can see the student housing from the road.  The entrance is not well marked.

The tour will share the history of the Cheda Family, the use of the facility of the Project Dairy years ago and the transition to the sheep facility it is currently.  See a wool press in operation and hear about the use of electric fence in the rotational grazing program used by the sheep unit.  Feeder lambs will be in paddocks nearby and the Dorper Cross ewes and Dorper Rams will be in paddocks close to the barn as well.

VETERINARY CLINIC TOUR

Directions:  From Highland Drive turn on to Mount Bishop Road, clinic is right before the Dairy.

The Cal Poly Animal Science Undergraduate program is fortunate to have a veterinary teaching hospital for students to gain practical experience in the veterinary field. The Vet Clinic is operated by three student managers who live on site at the clinic. These students get the opportunity to experience the responsibilities of running a small professional business. The schedule appointments, order inventory, manage financial accounts, and maintain a professional working environment. The resident managers along with the vet clinic’s five employees also receive the opportunity work alongside faculty veterinarians and assist in a wide range of appointments and surgeries on various species of animals.

The vet clinic services all Animal Science units, including the Cal Poly Dairy, and provides them with veterinary supplies along with the necessary veterinary care that students are able to assist with. Private client appointments are also used as a tool for Cal Poly veterinarians to teach students in various classes, including the Veterinary Technical Skills class and Systemic Animal Physiology. The vet clinic houses a classroom where many of these classes meet for their weekly lab activities.