A Summer of Fire, Whispers and Feral Hogs: A Lloyd Noble Ag Scholar Looks Back
I have learned so much here at the Noble Research Institute over the last 10 weeks! I was able to visit local producers where our consultants provided helpful insights into their farming operations. And my fellow scholars and I got to trap and GPS-collar feral hogs as well as participate in prescribed burns of pastures.
Taylor McAtee conducting a prescribed burn in a field in North Texas
The focus of my summer research pertained to bovine respiratory disease (BRD). My main project was a data analysis of the Whisper® Veterinary Stethoscope, a tool used to diagnose and determine the severity of BRD. My goal was to analyze the variability of the stethoscope, and after spending a good amount of time in Excel, I was able to accomplish that.
Taylor uses the Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope as part of her project at the Noble Research Institute’s Red River Farm.
The research I conducted this summer on BRD, as well as the research I did last summer with Veterinary Research and Consulting Services, allowed me to attend the Appropriate Antimicrobial Use and Stewardship Meeting at Hy-Plains Education and Research Center in Kansas.
Over the two days, we heard many talks relating to appropriate antimicrobial use and stewardship, ranging from “Antibiotic Use and Animal Welfare from a Retailer’s Perspective” to “Late-day Morbidity in High-Performing Cattle.” It was really cool to work on such an important issue in our industry with both my mentor from last summer, Dr. Miles Theurer, research director, Veterinary Research and Consulting Services, LLC, and my mentor this year, Myriah Johnson, Ph.D., Noble economics program leader and agricultural economics consultant.
I feel like I have gotten a wide range of experiences these last 10 weeks, helping to round out my knowledge of the beef industry. It was such a great opportunity to learn, and I made lifelong friends along the way.
From left, Lloyd Noble Ag Scholars Amber Oerly, Mason Blinson, Charlotte Talbott and Taylor McAtee pose for a group selfie.
Taylor McAtee is a 2019 Lloyd Noble Scholar in Agriculture in Agriculture from La Cygne, Kansas. She is a junior at Kansas State University in Manhattan, majoring in animal sciences and industry with a bioscience option.
