The sun beamed down on the Xposure journalism workshoppers as they toured the WKU farm via hayride.<\/p>\n
The students, who are a part of a journalism experience exposing them to a variety of speakers, field trips and tours, learned about life on a university farm.<\/p>\n
Paul Woosley, the director of the Agriculture Exposition Center, showed the 12 students around the 780 acres of farmland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in charge of all the people\u2026 who make sure everything is good,\u201d Woosley said.<\/p>\n
While on the two-hour tour, the students got an up-close view of crop research, vineyards, hemp plants and horse stables, among other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was fun \u2013 it was really informative. I didn\u2019t know about all those things before,\u201d Jaley Adkins, an Xposure workshopper, said of the tour.<\/p>\n
Sierra Earnhart, 17, of Bowling Green was impressed with the hemp production.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned about hemp and how it produces CBD (cannabidiol) instead of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol),\u201d she said. \u201cAnother thing I learned they don\u2019t want to legalize marijuana, they don\u2019t want the hemp plant to mix up with the THC.\u201d<\/p>\n
WKU is participating in five hemp research projects. The small research plots were planted in June, the farm\u2019s website said.<\/p>\n
On the farm are labs where students can do experiments and research.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe farm is a tool used by a wide variety of students pursuing career in all aspects of agriculture such as agribusiness, ag education, ag mechanics and composting,\u201d the website said.<\/p>\n
There have been a few additions to the farm over the years, including a new 27-horse stable.<\/p>\n
The WKU Farm has a total of 30 horses. The stables come with showers for the horses as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most interesting thing I learned about the horse stables is how much they don\u2019t stay in the (stables) we visited,\u201d Anna Bryson of Bowling Green said. \u201cThat\u2019s essential. It\u2019s a difference between big-named farms and smaller hometown farms being that big-named farms tend not to let their horses be outside as much as smaller farms do. And that\u2019s important because horses need that time outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 15-year-old said the farm treats \u201call members right, even four-legged members.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, the students got an up-close look at the farm\u2019s weather monitoring station, part of WKU\u2019s statewide Mesonet.<\/p>\n
Stuart Foster, a professor of geography at WKU, talked to the Xposure students about the weather-monitoring system. He said the Mesonet which people can get on an app, gets weather out to residents quickly. He\u2019s hoping to spread the word about the forecast system.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to reach out to journalists to get the word out about the Mesonet,\u201d Foster said.<\/p>\n
India Rice, a 16-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, liked what she saw of the weather station.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was innovative,\u201d she said. \u201cIt created a medium for technology and agriculture to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
WKU\u2019s farm, however, is not just a place of weather forecasts and hemp research. The farm also produces dairy products, and consumers can buy meats and cheeses at the farm\u2019s store.<\/p>\n
They have all kinds of cheeses, including plain cheese, pepperjack, bacon cheese (their most popular), mild cheese and sharp cheddar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like that they use all natural products,\u201d 17-year old John Hundley of St. Louis, Missouri, said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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