The Ferguson Grange, the Little Mountain Grange along with matching funds from the North Carolina State Grange, donated $1,000 to the WCC Animal Science Program Club that will be used for the Swine Production program. Frank Blevins, Animal Science/Horticulture instructor stated, “The donation will be put back into the swine program to be used for upgrading the facility as well as the watering and feeder system.”
In the spring 2019 semester, students conducted research on five pigs to determine the ratio of feed needed for each pound of weight gained. Students visited the farm five days a week checking on the water and feed for the pigs. The entire class visited weekly to weigh the pigs.
During the weekly visits to the farm, Zelotese Walsh, 95 of the Boomer community, visited with the students and shared his knowledge of swine production. Walsh was raised on a farm and was involved in swine production throughout his farming career. Tony Jones stated, “It’s been a wonderful project and has been beneficial to have someone with that type of knowledge to share with the students.”
Frank Blevins, WCC Animal Science instructor stated, “Tony Jones was instrumental in getting this project started. He not only donated the use of his family’s farm, he initiated the conversation with Bartlett Feed Company in Statesville, N.C. about purchasing the feed for the pigs. After discussing the project with Bartlett, they agreed to provide all the feed for the research project. In exchang