College of Ag has Got You Covered For Halloween!

Halloween is just around the corner... in fact it's tomorrow!  If you are interested in becoming a member of the College of Agriculture here on campus, or even if you just want to join in on the Halloween fun, there are a few events and ways to celebrate the holiday every year.  Although it already passed, Pumpkin Festival is an annual event that is held every year here at Cal Poly Pomona on the 18th and 19th of October.  Thousands of people from all over town come in for the festival that is run by the College Of Agriculture.  In our pumpkin patch, there are thousands of pumpkins to choose from.  Not only this, but there is a multitude of fun activities for students and members of the community to participate in.  These include the schools petting zoo, pony rides, great food, and fun booths like face painting.  However, one of the spookiest things you can do is go to the insect fair!  At the fair, there are around 500,000 insects to be seen and held from all over the world.  Not only do you get to have hands on experiences with insects like unique butterflies and grasshoppers, you get to learn how they impact the environment.  For more information go to: http://www.csupomona.edu/~farmstore/Insect-Fair.shtml
 

      If you want to become involved in one of these events for future, join one of the many clubs offered in the College of Ag!  All the clubs have a booth with various activities and information for all people who attend the festival. A list of the clubs are here:  http://www.csupomona.edu/~agri/clubs.shtml
      Bummed that you missed out on this festival this year?  Don't fret!  You can still go into the farm store to buy pumpkins to carve with your friends just in time for tomorrow! Also, in the spring, the College of Ag hosts another bug exhibit extravaganza and free admission to the petting zoo along with an event called the "Taste of the Farm Store."  There, you will be able to try different foods for free that the store offers including cheeses, drinks, candy and produce!  This will be on Saturday, March 7th!  Here is a link for more information: http://www.csupomona.edu/~farmstore/Taste-of-Farm-Store.shtml  

"Learn By Doing": The Latest and Greatest at the Farm Store!

    Looking for some fresh food and a farm style atmosphere?  Look no more!  Cal Poly Pomona's College of Agriculture has it's own store. Their motto "Fresh Off The Cal Poly Pomona Farm," is completely true.  In the store, you can purchase the school's own home grown vegetables, fruits, meats and more!  Some of the most popular items purchased that were grown by the students include delicious pomegranates, tomatoes, Valencia oranges, and fresh squeezed orange juice. The link to the site is: http://www.csupomona.edu/~farmstore/

Want to get involved behind the scenes at the farm store? If you are interested in getting either an Agribusiness and Food Industry Management or Plant Science degree, you could greatly benefit from the tools and resources offered at the farm store. From outside of the typical classroom setting, you can sign up to do an enterprise project linked to the farm. This perfectly exemplifies the campuses motto, "Learn By Doing!" Through this process, you have the chance to grow food products that eventually make it to the store to sell.  Not only is it cool to sell your own products you worked really hard on, but you also get a percentage of the earnings to help with your college expenses!  Your project could include growing vegetables and fruits in the Cal Poly's greenhouse, fields, or facilities!  Furthermore, you could even sell plants for great prices!  For example, some of the plants up for sale at the store right now include several fruit trees, herbs and perennials.  A complete list is here:http://www.csupomona.edu/~farmstore/nursery-plants.shtml 

Either way you, the College of Ag has you covered, you are bound to succeed with the help of other students and professors. 

Horses Galore at CPP!

  



        At CPP, when you make your way through Kellogg Drive to main campus, you are bound to see large pasture of tons of Arabian horses.  If you are an early bird like I am,  you probably love to see the horses meandering in their large pasture pens up against the gorgeous sunrise that sits atop the mountains. What you may not know, is that it is known as the Kellogg Arabian Horse Center.  As some of you may heave realized, my first blog post mentioned how the Kellogg center originated: http://abroncogirlspost.blogspot.com/2014/10/75-years-in-making-of-college-of-ag.html

At the stables, you can sign up as a volunteer and  there are tons of teams you can join!  Some of these include the Intercollegiate Horse Show Team, the Rodeo Team, and the Arabian Drill Team...to name a few.  Furthermore, the staff at the stables is always looking for student volunteers to help out with the livestock, whether it be with grooming and feeding the horses, or even just socializing and exercising them.

Since our campus signed a contract with Mr. Kellog about keeping his ranch, our school must continue to breed Arabian horses every year. One of the biggest and most well known programs offered is the Foal Watch Program.   I've done it for the past two years, and love every minute of it because of my passion for horses and my desire to gain more knowledge in all aspects of the College of Agriculture here at our campus. The program is normally held every winter through spring quarter.   Students are encouraged to join and are assigned a pregnant mare for the span of the rest of the school year.  During that time, they are taught how to care for their mare during her pregnancy.  This includes grooming the horse, exercising her, as well as weighing her and recording her activities and changes in a record book.  Once the due date gets closer, students must closely monitor their mare and sleep over in the stables the night she is going to foal.  They then help with the foaling process and take care of the baby.  Often, the most exciting part for the students, is the fact that they get to name the foal and take care of it.  Here is a link that explains all of the horse center's programs: http://www.csupomona.edu/~equine/foalwatch.shtml
 Not only is this a great opportunity to gain familiarity with horses, but it's a chance to experience more of what the College of Ag provides for its students and is great to put on resumes! 

75 Years in the Making Of The College Of Ag!

      Did you know that the College Of Agriculture at CPP has been around for 75 years?!  Well if you didn't know, it has been around since 1938...and it has continued to thrive tremendously every year since then.  What makes it even more interesting was that Cal Poly Pomona was originally owned by Keith Kellogg.  That's right, the owner and creator of Kellogg Cornflake cereal!  It used to be known only as the Kellogg Ranch where he cared for and bred tons of Arabian horses, but he eventually ended up giving his property to our school with one desire in mind: that the College of Ag keep his ranch and Arabian horses well taken care of for years to come!  Here is a link that gives the full story of how our campus and the College of Ag came about here at CPP: http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/specialcollections/history/historyofcalpoly.html

   


 The College of Ag has so many degrees you can choose from.  If you are a person who loves to get your hands dirty and are a fan of all things agriculture, this is the college for you!  Whether it's Agribusiness and Food Industry Management, Plant Science, Animal Health Science, Apparel Merchandising and Management, or any of the other degrees you can achieve through the College of Ag, there is something for everyone.  Here is a link that provides all of the master programs, degrees, and minors offered: http://www.csupomona.edu/~agri/degreesoffered.shtml