Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

Living, Learning ON THE FARM Kyle Colyer lived in a barn. A Purebred Beef Teaching Center employee, Colyer, senior in animal sciences and industry, lived and worked at the center with his roommates Sam Weinhold, senior in animal sciences and industry, and Andy Ledoux, jun- ior in animal sciences and industry. " You raise some eyebrows, " Colyer said. " People are like, ' Barn? How do you live in a barn? ' They don ' t know there is an apartment in here. " Weinhold said the barn ' s corner apartment had a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom, and the uni- versity paid room and board through the College of Agriculture. " It ' s small, " Weinhold said. " We .leep in a bed three bunks high. " Colyer said it felt like home. " I look at it as a place to hang my clothes up and lay my head down once in a while, " he said. Herdsman Troy Maple, graduate student in animal sciences and indus- try, said the center had raised cattle since the late 1800s, and it had always been used as a teaching tool. " I ' m usually pretty critical, " Maple said. " 1 require my employees to have a farming or ranching back- ground. They have to have a basic knowledge of what they are doing, and we can teach the rest. " While Colyer, Weinhold and Ledoux lived at the center, four other part-time employees also met qualifi- cation requirements set by Maple. He said those who had worked at the cen- ter the longest received the first oppor- tunity to live there. " This (center) is a place where you need to already know, " Colyer said. " We ' ll be watching heifers calve by ourselves at night. If there ' s a prob- lem some- one can t sit there and hold your hand. People are adding to what they know, not starting f rom scratch. " Marple said the center had a 1.1/2 to two year waiting lists to live there. " It ' s an honor, " Colyer said. ' This isn ' t something you take for a lot of money. I could go work somewhere else for $9 an hour, but I ' d rather work here for minimum wage. " With about 350 cattle and 70 bulls at the center, Colyer said employees stayed busy, and work duties varied with the time of year. " We start the day at 7 a.m. It ' s a never-ending deal; ' he said. " There ' s always stuff going on all the time. " I require my employees to have a farming or teaching background. Troy Marple, graduate student in animal sciences and industry continued on page 28 purebred beef teaching center 27