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

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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

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During a routine feeding Nov. 9, Colyer throws hay into one of the pens at the Purebred Beef Teaching Center. Colyer said herdsman Troy Mamie. graduate student in animal sciences and industry, bought the hay from local farmers. Center employees started the day at 7 a.m. to feed livestock before going to class. (Photo by Jell Cooper) After a two-how tabor. Kyle Colyer, senior in animal sciences and industry. and Sam Weinhold, junior in animal sciences and industry pull a breached can from its mother Jan 25. Colyer said the birth was not complicated, however many hectors had trouble during calving. good to have two People: he said. • One to support the heifer or hold her tel back and one to pull. Once they (heifers) do it once they know what they are doing. and you don ' t have to watch them as close next calving season: (Photo by Jell Cooper) 26

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continued from page 27 ON THE FARM When employees began in the fall, cows and calves grazed in the pasture, giving the workers time to maintain the facilities, Colyer said. We do a lot of maintenance to get ready for the year, he said. We clean the barn and build fence. In October, after weaning babies and branding them, employees pre- pared for calving, which lasted from late January to March. Last night (Feb. 4) Sam and I were up until two or three, Colyer said. We had a heifer calve. Then another one. One calf didn ' t want to nurse so we had to give him some milk. This time of year the day never ends. Colyer said living an agricultural lifestyle differed from others ' lives. A lot of college kids have week- ends off, Colyer said. It might be your time to check heifers, and every- one else is going to the bars, but you ' re not going to the bars. The center raised bulls for the Uni- versity Bull Sale in March, and sold cattle at the Kansas Beef Expo in Hutchinson, Kan. The center donated heifers for the Little American Royal Show, which gave participants the chance to show livestock without buy- ing the animal for the show. Colyer said working at the center rounded out his college experience. When I ' m 40 years old I can say, ' Yeah, I worked there. I lived he said. I wasn ' t just going to school, getting my diploma. ' by staci hauschild At days end. Sam weinhold. junior in animal sciences and industry. Kuesor and Goyim relax in the bamb Wing room Jan. 26. Colyer said the men chewed tobacco and spit in a canister Andy had bought. It ' s pretty damn nasty: Coyer said. ' Andy wont to my hometown (in Idaho). He bought a box of old stuff at a benefit auction, and that was in there. Later we were Ike, We can spit in that thing. • (Photo by Jeff Cooper) Wore sunrise, Kyle Colyer, senior in animal sciences and industry, enters the barn alter trying to catch horses for an early morning cattle round-up Jan. 26. (Photo by Jeff Goober) 28 student life