2/7/13

Today was Red Cross CPR and first-aid training.  All of us had been trained before but things have changedsince back then.  The breath to compression ratio and they didn't have portable defibrillators available last time I was certified.

Oliver and Lewis

The instructor had us all demonstrate our skills before we could be certified.  This being Friday, we had our one on one with Tom just make sure everything was going okay. After meeting with Tom we had a free weekend to relax for next weeks classes.

2/6/13

Today we had Dr. Randy Showerman, Dir. of Ag. at MSU.  He shared his knowledge of 4-H and FFA. We talked about a lot of different ag related subjects from beef cattle to corn.  What most of were most interested in was MSU and what we would be doing there. I know after sitting in a class for the last 3 weeks I'm ready for a change.  Dr. Showerman asked what type of recreational things we would like to do and we all gave our input. I'm looking forward to it.                      

Dr. Showerman

Since we've been studying meat cuts, Dr. Showerman had a jeopardy game made up on his power point.  We were split up into 2 teams - MSU  vs U of M.  Since Notre Dame wasn't an option, I went with the MSU team.  The MSU team we had an added advantage of being able to look at a meat chart during the first half of the competition.  I don't know why but the other team seemed to have a problem with this, go figure :)   Anyway we all had a good time!

2/4/13

Today we had Taylor Harrison a student in animal science.  She explained the different breeds of beef cattle and the pros and cons of each breed.  It was interesting, but most of us just want to start cutting some meat.  I never realized how many women were involved in agriculture.  I guess I fell into the old stereotypical thinking.  Farming = fathers and sons.  Taylor grew up in 4-H and showing beef cattle and although this is her last year in 4-H, she remains active in agriculture.  In the afternoon we went to the academic center to learn basic computer skills.  We all have varying degrees of computer skills, some of us plain don't have any. 

2/5/13

In our class today we had Jennifer from the Xerces Society.  Jennifer works in Entomology, the study of insects.  

                                                        Jennifer

Some wondered what this really had to do with meat cutting, but it seems all things related one way or another. We leaned how different insects can be beneficial to field crops and considering feed corn and grain are used to feed cattle, the connection was made.

In the afternoon we visited the manor house here at KBS.  We were given a tour which explained the history of the house and Kellogg family.  We also learned how the property was given to MSU.  On the way out we had to get a photo of the whole group of Vets to Ag. 

2/2/13

Well it's Saturday and usually we only have our group study session, but today we're going to Galesburg Meat Locker. This operation is a little larger then Richland Meats but would still be considered on the small side.  The interesting thing is that they smoke and cure meat.  They do this not only for their own sales but also for other companies such as Richland.
 

        Rigil                                                  Rob                                                           Mark(owner)

It was nice little excursion and most of the guys enjoyed it.  Now I'm going to relax for the rest of the weekend and try and catch a Notre Dame BB game.

2/1/13

Since today is Friday, we had our one on one meetings with Tom and also received our stipend.  He explained the growth of agricultural job opportunities in Michigan and it is very encouraging.  It appears that the meat processing field is on the rise and is projected to continue to grow.  I was already aware of this, but the raw numbers were even more encouraging.

                                                                 Jeff         and            Ralph

In the afternoon we went to the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners.  We were all looking forward to this!  Guys and cars?  What's NOT to like?  Check out some of the cars in these pictures.  If you get a chance to visit the museum, do it.  

                       John

The Vets to Ag staff have been great in working our schedule to make our afternoons more relaxing, and sometimes recreational.  I am still amazed at how welcoming and accommodating everyone has been.  All of our activities (just like this trip to the Car Museum) have been paid for us.  You can't forget people like Jim, at Richland Meat Center, who took time out of his day to demonstrate butchering and to answer questions.

Well that was about it for Friday  I'm behind on my postings, but we've been going over a lot of material which I'll talk about later.

1/31/13

Today we had no guest speakers so it was a review of the material already covered.  We also worked on our meat cuts using flash cards. There are cards for beef, pork, and lamb.  Everyone seems to be getting a handle on it and they have been a good study aid for us.

In the afternoon we drove around the town of Plainwell just to get the lay of the land.  It seems to be a  nice little community.  We also drove past JBS just to see what the plant looked like.  I was a little surprised, it didn't seem big enough to employ as many people as it does.

Everyone seems to be getting along okay with no major flare ups. As some of the guys have families at home, there's bound to be some stress, though they seem to be handling it okay.  Well that's all for today tomorrow we have Tom here and going to the Gilmore Auto Museum for an outing which should be interesting.

1/30/13

Today we had Martha and Day from the Burma Center in Springfield, MI as our guest speakers.  A big population of the workforce at JBS is of Burmese or Hispanic descent.  This being the case, it is important to have a little knowledge of the people we will be working with.

                                                                   Martha

Burma, currently called Myanmar, borders China, Laos, and Thailand and is about the size of Texas.  There has been a lot of unrest and many of the 40,000 Burmese Americans originally came here as refugees. Martha showed a video of the Buddhist monks protesting the army-run government in the early part of the 2000s. As we were watching the video, Day prepared a traditional snack of tea leaves, nuts, and spices which I enjoyed (though it wasn't to everyone's taste).  I found today's class very interesting, as I didn't have a clue about Burma.

                                                                         Day

After lunch we went to Richland Meats.  Jim, who is a 4th generation butcher and the owner, was great.  He gave us a demonstration by butchering a pig.  As this was the first live demonstration of meat cutting, we were all full of questions for him.  He also described the differences between large processing plants such as JBS, large retailers as Meijer and Kroger, and the smaller retail shops such as his.  Overall it was a very informative day.

                                                                     Jim and the Guys

 

Another day closer to going to MSU and then employment.  So as they would say in Burmese, Mang tha (goodbye or good dreams).

I am Oliver Hargrove, a 45 year old Navy veteran from the Detroit area. I found out about the Vets 2 Ag program at a veterans job fair at Piquette Square. I was homeless about a year before entering the program. Since entering the program I've recieved a great insight into the Agriculture Industry.


The Vets to Ag program has opened up several doors and possibilities into careers and education. The agriculture field is fastly growing and in need of qualified workers in sales, research, manufacturing, and  food processing, just to name a few. The staff and students at MSU have been so helpful and caring in their efforts to help us succeed in this program. This is a great opportunity for veterans to get their lives back on track and become productive citizens again.

1/29/13

Check out our living arrangements.  As I said on day one, they have us double-bunked in small apartments, but they are nice and better than what many of us have had.  I cannot tell you enough how great the food has been.   

We have a fantastic view of Gull Lake and many of the vets were hoping for better weather to go fishing.

As you can see, we've got it pretty good. 

1/28/13

After a fairly relaxing weekend, it's back to class (we have a study group every evening after supper Mon. thru Sat. with Sun. being a day to ourselves).  Today's instructor was Dr. Eddie Moore.  All the instructors are from MSU College of Ag so far.  Eddie told about growing up on a farm in N. Carolina and being at Ohio State and the different positions he's held.  He worked with the Clinton administration in D.C. dealing with agricultural concerns.  He was very warm and engaging.  He explained leadership and the qualities a good leader has. Then it was our turn to explain what we thought.

The afternoon was a treat!  We went to the Kellogg Dairy Farm. It is one of the many research centers here.
They have a fully automated milking process. When the cow wants to be milked it walks into a stall and a machine automatically hooks up to the cow.

Some of the things they do are amazing!  In the picture above, you can see they have surgically implanted a port into the one of the cows stomach.  In doing this, they can open the port and take samples. Most of the guys enjoyed the outing and it was an nice break from the classroom.

1/25/13

Today our instructor was Dr. Dorcia Chaison from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources @ M.S.U.  Dr. Chaison developed the REAP  Program ( Retention, Engagement & Academic Performance) which is designed to help students become more successful in their studies. We discussed goal setting, note taking, time management and other related topics. For some of us this was a refresher course, for others it was new material. We discussed what was presented over lunch and many of the guys wondered what this had to do with meat cutting. A lot of the material we will be covering isn't directly related to this field but may be of value as we move forward.  Some of the students think it's a waste of time while others don't.  To me it's very simple, take what you can use and don't worry about the rest. You never know what may come in handy down the road. Once we get to M.S.U. we will get our fill of meat cutting.

After our morning class we all headed to the dining center for lunch. Now I haven't talked much about the food but let me tell you it's fantastic. We have had pork tenderloin, shrimp, steak, stir fry and always a large variety of desserts to choose from ( in later posts I'll have pics for you and of our living arrangements). When we were finished with lunch, Chef Josh Boiser took us through the kitchen. He discussed the way they store and handle meat and other food products. We had some fun with it and the staff here is fantastic.

We finished our day meeting one on one with Tom just to make sure everyone is doing okay and if there are any concerns.  We also receive a small stipend, which for me goes for laundry and smokes(still working on that habit but as Tim McGraw sang I'm not as good as I want to get but I'm better then I used to be).

 

1/24/13

Today was very informative!  Tom Smith explained what was expected of us and what they were responsible for.  After our introduction yesterday, we had a lot of questions.  Some of us were leaving shelters but some of the guys had homes and we were all concerned about what would be the situation after we complete the course.  We haven't gotten a definitive solution to all the issues we were concerned about but we were reassured that our concerns over housing and transportation were being looked after.

Tom worked with us on upgrading our math skills and most of us were receptive to the info. All work and no play makes me a dull boy.  So after study group, me and a couple of my fellow students went to the activity center to shoot some pool.

If anyone has a chance like this, TAKE IT!  I am still so elated to have been given this opportunity.

In the future, Tina and I will be encouraging my fellow resident vets to share their experiences also.  If any of them choose to engage in our blog, you will be told it's someone besides me.  If you have questions please don't hesitate to ask.  This is a fantastic program!