ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

Indiana's 840 RFID Tag Program

840 RFID tags offer the latest technology in conventional identification. In addition to visual labeling of an animal, RFIDs allow for wireless scanning of tags that can be downloaded to a computer or a hand-held device.

BOAH is launching this pilot program and encouraging the adoption of 840s because these tags:

• meet Michigan importation requirements;
• are Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL)-compliant;
• assist producers with accurate, electronic record keeping;
• can easily integrate with current commercially available production software; and
• are free, while pilot program supplies last.

Agriculture Facts and Information

Incubators in the Classroom

Incubators in the Classroom is geared toward Johnson County youth. An incubator and fertilized chicken eggs are placed in the classroom two days prior to hatching, allowing the children to experience one miracle of agriculture. The live chicks remain in the classroom for two more days after hatching.

The week-long program is designed to be integrated into the regular school curriculum. Past participating teachers have utilized the Incubators in the Classroom to talk about nutrition, animal development, agriculture, etc. with their students.  The Agriculture/Natural Resources Extension Educator, is available to come talk with the children about chickens, embryo development, and production agriculture.

The Incubators in the Classroom program is made possible through the Purdue Extension Office/Johnson County in Franklin, the Johnson County Farm Bureau, Inc., and Mickey LaTour, Purdue Poultry Specialist and program innovator.

Possible Topics to Cover Using the Incubators in the Classroom Program:

• Mathematics
• Language Arts/English
• Social Studies
• Character Education
• Death and Grieving
• Science

Teacher's Responsibilities:

While using this incubation project, there are endless opportunities you could choose to explore. You could do countless things inside your classroom to help your students fully understand what is happening before their eyes. In order for this miracle of life to occur, there are things that must happen every day.

The teacher:

• Makes arrangements with a parent volunteer or someone else to pick up the fertilized eggs from Purdue's Poultry Farm near West Lafayette.
• Maintains incubation conditions (i.e. temperature and humidity) within the incubator.
• Returns the incubator to the Extension Office, cleaned and in good condition.
• Notifies the Extension Office at least 30 days prior to the delivery in order to ensure the eggs' fertilization and incubator availability unless other arrangements have been made.
• Finds a good home for the chicks after they are hatched. It is recommended that the students not take one home.

If you are interested in including the Incubators in the Classroom program in your curriculum, please contact Sarah Speedy at the Johnson County Extension Office by phone at 317/ 736-3724 or email sspeedy@purdue.edu. Once you have expressed interest, Sarah will contact you to finalize program dates and incubator delivery times.

Thank you for your interest in the Incubators in the Classroom program. We look forward to working with you and your students throughout the school year.

 Teacher Resource Links

Incubation and Embryology