AgDiscovery at NC State University

That’s a wrap! Thank you all for an incredible AgDiscovery 2024 🌽

Day 11: Today was the last full day of camp! In the morning, the campers started with the second part of pest detection with USDA representative, Isaac Powell. They were able to catch and collect insects and learned about biological control.

In the afternoon, campers learned about Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) and got to keep some petunias!

Closing ceremony tomorrow!

Day 10: It was an extremely hot day yesterday but we all made it! Campers visited Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, watched a beaver dam being blown up, and learned how to trap birds with a cannon net!

Day 9: Campers were able to escape the heat today! They were introduced to a Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) presentation and had an inspection and lunch at H Mart.

In the afternoon, they had a visit from the USDA canine unit and finished working on their project in the lab.

Day 8: This morning campers traveled to NC State Central Crops Research Station in Clayton, NC.

The first station began with learning about how sweet potato’s are cultivated. Russell Meirop spoke to campers about the different types of potato’s produced in NC and had each of us taste 14 different species! In the second and third session, campers went into the corn fields to have a first hand experience as a USDA field scientist. Dr. Peter Balint-Kurti showed students the importance of corn and how cross pollination and hybridization occurs in the field.

In the afternoon, NC State entomology graduate students taught campers about the different orders of insects and were able to pin their own insect to keep!

The day ended with campers collecting different types of soil to test their hypothesis for the final project.

This weekend was extremely hot! So, to cool off, campers went to the NC Museum of Natural Science and went bowling. They also got to rest up for the last week of camp!

Day 5: In the morning we saw some incredible animals and learned about APHIS animal care. Dr. McBride spoke about animal conservation and campers did a mock inspection viewing lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves! Animal Park at the Conservation Center does an incredible job protecting animals and educating the public.

In the afternoon, campers learned about monocots and dicots, dissected some flowers, and continued working on their project.

Now, it’s time to rest up to explore Durham/Raleigh this weekend!

Day 4: Today was another busy day for the campers! They started the day learning about pest management with USDA representatives Isaac Powell, a plant survey specialist, who spoke about pest management and different methods to trap invasive species. Campers were able to see Japanese beetles and boll weevils up close and personal!

Campers then headed over to the NC State animal science department and learned about pig farming and the best practices for tagging and ventilation.

They ended the day in the lab focusing on their errosion soil project!