Animal science in west virginia?

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Just out of curiosity, has anyone here been through the animal science program at West Virginia University in Morgantown, or any program there? I'm hoping to get a good education on animals for when I begin my homesteading adventure! (I started saving money for my farm at 16!)

-- Elizabeth Ball (Lividia66@aol.com), March 02, 2001

Answers

Hi Elizabeth,

Is an out of state university an option for you? I have a friend who graduated the animal science program at Dartmouth, NH. I'm sure he would be happy to tell you more about it if you are interested in that school.

Best Wishes,

Pauline NC

-- Pauline (tworoosters_farm@altavista.com), March 02, 2001.


Although a few of the freshman classes were of value to me, the WVU animal science program is not about learning farming skills but rather training semi-skilled workers for agribusiness, and frankly I expect this is true of most animal science programs. Few viewpoints beyond chemical-based factory agribusiness were recognized, and although the professors could discuss at length things like what processes are involved in rumination, few had any practical livestock experience to share with students.

If you have a deep longing to understand how things work at the most basic level (or if you're planning to go on to vet school), a BS in animal science will interest you, but keep in mind that knowing organic chemistry is not likely to be a practical help in farming. If farming is what you want to do, better to find some real-life working farmers to mentor you, and get some first hand experience in practical farming rather than wasting time on the theoretical.

-- Julia (charmer24@juno.com), March 03, 2001.


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