FARM TO TABLE
LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW
Career: Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers operate and manage the land, assets, and resources on farms that produce crops, livestock, and dairy products
Lesson: This lesson plan provides activities for students to learn where our food comes from. Students will learn how ranchers raise livestock and then calculate the costs involved in going from the farm to the dinner table. Students will also learn how the Colony Collapse Disorder is negatively affecting the food we eat and dissect a flower to gain a better understanding of pollination and flower reproduction systems.
Grade Level: High School
Learning Objectives:
〉 Students will be introduced to the career of a farm/ranch manager and the challenges they face in an unstable environment.
〉 Students will learn how livestock is raised and calculate the costs involved to go from the farm to the table.
〉 Students will learn how the Colony Collapse Disorder negatively affects the foods we eat.
〉 Students will dissect a flower to understand how bees contribute to plant pollination.
Materials Needed:
Activity #1: Farm to Table – How Much Does It Cost?
〉 Student worksheet
〉 Calculator
Activity #2: Colony Collapse Disorder
〉 Student worksheet
〉 Video: Colony Collapse Disorder (http://tn-caps.com/r/92FR1)
〉 Fresh flowers – recommend lilies or tulips
〉 Scalpel, single-sided razor blade, or box cutter
〉 Push pins
〉 Dissection board – piece of corrugated cardboard.
TEACHER GUIDE
Lesson Instructions: The following activities will help you introduce students to how farmers and ranchers raise livestock and grow crops and some of the challenges they face. Begin the lesson by reading the Class Message below to your students, then have them watch the recommended career video. Afterwards, facilitate a discussion using the Class Questions listed below.
After the discussion, students will work on two activities. Each activity has a printable worksheet with student instructions and areas to record their work. Have students read their worksheets before beginning each activity.
You should also familiarize yourself with the student worksheets to provide assistance when needed, help demonstrate any procedures, and help in facilitating the discussion that ends each activity.
Class Message: Today, we are going to learn about the careers of farmers and ranchers. Farmers and ranchers grow and supply the food we eat. Farmers grow fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other crops for food. Some farm crops, such as cotton, are used to make clothing. Others, such as soybeans, can be used to make clean-burning fuel, such as biodiesel fuel. Ranchers raise animals for meat, eggs, milk, cheese, ice cream, and many other dairy products we enjoy.
In this lesson, you will learn about the beef industry and how livestock is raised and calculate the costs involved in livestock going from the farm to the table. You will then learn about the negative impacts of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) on the food crops we depend on and dissect a flower to better understand how bees help plants to pollinate.
Let’s watch this short video to learn more about farmers and ranchers.
Farm/Ranch Manager Career Video (http://tn-caps.com/r/92VFM)
Class Discussion Questions:
〉 Do any of you or a relative live on a farm? Have any of you visited a farm that raises beef, chicken, or pork? If so, share your experience. If not, what do you think farmers/ranchers do on a daily basis? - Allow students to share their experience – Response Suggestions: feed and take care of livestock; operate farming equipment; plant, water, and harvest the crops.
〉 What are some factors you think could affect the cost of beef, chicken, and pork?Sample answers may include: the cost of feed, supply and demand, drought, outbreak of diseases in animals, dietary changes (vegetarians, vegans, etc.)
〉 Have you ever heard of Colony Collapse Disorder? If so, what is it? - Sample answers may include: it’s the collapse of bee colonies; it’s when the worker bees in a colony disappear, causing hives to eventually die.
〉 Why should we be concerned about Colony Collapse Disorder? How does it affect us? - Sample answers may include: bees pollinate vegetables and flowers; pollination is vital to our food supply; the majority of plants rely on bees for pollination – almonds, coffee, fruits, vegetables, flowers, cotton, etc.
Activities Overview: This lesson plan includes two student activities. In Activity #1, students will learn how livestock is raised and will calculate the costs involved in going from the farm to the table. In Activity #2, students will learn about the Colony Collapse Disorder and its effects on the foods we eat and dissect a flower to gain an understanding of how bees pollinate plants.
Read and familiarize yourself with the student worksheet for each activity
Activity #1: Farm to Table – How Much Does It Cost?
Students will use the information given to analyze and calculate how much it costs for farmers to raise livestock and how costs affect the price we pay at the grocery store.
Activity Instructions:
〉 Hand out the student worksheet.
〉 Introduce the activity and guide students as needed.
〉 After completion, facilitate a discussion using the questions for the activity.
Activity Results: This activity introduced students to the beef industry and how the cost of raising animals affects the price consumers pay for food.
Rancher Scenario: Tyler is a feed-yard cattle rancher. He has 100 head of cattle that needs to be processed. All 100 cows weigh approximately 1,600 lbs. each.
Cost Per Cow
〉 Based on the information for 1 cow, how much money does Tyler have invested in his 100 cows? - Cost per cow X 100 is $1,775 X 100 = $177,500
〉 Based on mid-range of $150 per Cwt, how much money will Tyler receive for all 100 head of cattle from the Processing Plant? - Cow value is calculated by a hundredweight (Cwt), so 1,600 lbs. per cow/100 = 16 Cwt X $150 = $2,400 X 100 cows = $240,000
〉 How much money will Tyler make after expenses? - Sale price – costs = profit, so $240,000 - $177,500 = $62,500 profit
Processing Plant Scenario: The processing plant buys Tyler’s cows. A 1,600 lb. steer with ½ inch of fat and average muscling will average around 720 lbs. of retail cuts (steaks, roasts, ground beef, stew beef, etc.). 70% of the carcass is lower end cuts at $3.95 per lb., and 30% is higher end cuts at $5.94 per lb. Values of selected byproducts include the steer hide at $7.81 per hundredweight, tongues and oxtail at 96 cents per hundredweight, meat and bone meal at 78 cents per hundredweight, livers at 58 cents per hundredweight, and hearts at 37 cents.
Calculate to determine how much money the processing plant will make.
Calculate the Total Value of Retail Cuts per Cow:
Find percentage of Lower End Cuts: 720 lbs. X 70% = 504 lbs.
Find percentage of Higher End Cuts: 720 lbs. X 30% = 216 lbs.
Multiply Lower End Cuts by per pound cost: 504 lbs. X $3.95 per lb. = $1,990.80
Multiply Higher End Cuts by per pound cost: 216 lbs. X $5.94 per lb. = $1,283.04
Calculate the Total Carcass Value for all Cows:
Add Lower End Cuts and Higher End cuts – $1,990.80 + $1,283.04 = $3,273.84
Then multiply total by 100 cows X $3,273.84 = $327,384
Calculate the Hundredweight (Cwt) of Total Byproducts per Cow:
First, find the weight of byproducts by subtracting the total weight for one cow by the total retail cuts weight - 1,600 lbs. – 720 lbs. = 880 lbs./100 = 8.8 Cwt
Calculate the Value of Byproducts for all Cows:
$7.81 steer hide + $.96 tongues and oxtail + $.78 meat and bone meal + $.58 livers + $.37 hearts = $10.50 per Cwt
8.8 Cwt X $10.50 = $92.40 X 100 cows = $9,240
Calculate the Total Processing Plant Profit:
$327,384 (total carcass amount) + $9,240 (byproducts) = $336,624
Subtract amount paid to rancher: $336,624 - $240,000 (rancher) = $96,624 profit
Grocery Store Scenario: The Processing Plant sells the processed meat for the Total Carcass Amount to the local grocery store. The store sells lower end cuts on average at $5.64 per lb. and higher end cuts on average at $7.23 per lb.
Calculate the Total Grocery Store Profit:
504 lbs. X $5.64 per lb. = $2,842.56 X 100 cows = $284,256
216 lbs. X $7.23 per lb. = $1,561.68 X 100 cows = $156,168
$284,256 + $156,168 = $440,424
Subtract amount paid to Processing Plant $440,424 - $327,384 = $113,040 Profit.
Activity Discussion:
〉 What are some factors that can affect ranchers and the beef cattle industry?Sample answers may include: environmental changes, increased costs for grass and grains for feed, increased veterinary costs, government regulations on the industry, livestock diseases, an increased interest in animal rights and treatment.
〉 What are some issues that can affect meat processing plants? - Maintaining USDA standards and requirements, contamination and diseases, supply and demand for meat products.
〉 What are some issues that could affect the retailer/grocery store? - Sample answers may include: keeping up with the supply and demand for the product, meat recall for contamination or diseases, time limit to sell products – waste because of expiration dates.
〉 What are your thoughts on the ethical treatment of animals raised for consumption? - Allow students to share their opinions.
Activity #2: Colony Collapse Disorder
Students will learn about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it affects our food supply. Students will then dissect a flower to gain a better understanding of plant pollination.
Activity Instructions:
〉 Hand out the student worksheet.
〉 Divide class into groups.
〉 Video: Colony Collapse Disorder (http://tn-caps.com/r/92FR1)
〉 Discuss Colony Collapse Disorder.
〉 Distribute the activity materials.
〉 Introduce the activity and guide students as needed.
〉 After completion, facilitate a discussion using the questions for the activity.
Activity Results: Students learned about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it affects our food supply. Students then dissected a flower to understand how bees pollinate plants.
Colony Collapse Disorder Questions:
What are some of the reasons wild bees are dying?
〉 Pesticides
〉 Parasites
〉 Not as many wild flowers - Loss of habitat
〉 Bacteria and viruses
What are some of the things we can do to reverse CCD?
〉 Pass stricter laws for pesticides
〉 Find a safe way to exterminate parasites
〉 Plant more wild flowers and plants that attract bees
〉 Continue to study bees to learn how to prevent bacteria and viruses
Activity Discussion:
〉 Why is pollination so important for the life-cycle of plants and bees? - Sample answers may include: both rely on each other in order to survive; flowers
need the pollinators (bees, butterflies, birds) to pollinate the plants and the bees need the pollen and nectar to feed the colony.
〉 What are some things you can do to improve pollination? - Sample answers may include: plant a wildflower garden, avoid pesticides, do not purposely kill bees.
〉 What are some things society can do to improve pollination? - Sample answers may include: educate people on protecting bees, outlaw damaging pesticides and chemicals, plant more flowers to give bees a natural habitat, protect grasslands and native plants.
CAREER INSIGHT
Career Highlight: This lesson plan highlights some of the concepts and skills farmers and ranchers practice to grow food. See the Employers in My Area section to contact businesses and organizations in your area about classroom demonstrations, onsite visits, or other additional career exposure opportunities.
Featured Career:
Farm & Ranch Manager
Career Descriptions: Farmers and ranchers plan, direct, or coordinate the management or operation of farms, ranches, greenhouses, aquaculture operations, nurseries, timber tracts, or other agricultural establishments. May hire, train, or supervise farm workers or contract for services to carry out the day-today activities of the managed operation. May engage in or supervise planting, cultivating, harvesting, financial, or marketing activities.
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers typically do the following:
〉 Supervise all steps of the crop production and ranging process, including planting, fertilizing, harvesting, and herding
〉 Determine how to raise crops or livestock by evaluating factors such as market conditions, disease, soil conditions, and the availability of federal programs
〉 Select and purchase supplies, such as seed, fertilizers, and farm machinery
〉 Ensure that all farming equipment is properly maintained
〉 Adapt their duties to the seasons, weather conditions, or a crop’s growing cycle
〉 Maintain farm facilities, such as water pipes, hoses, fences, and animal shelters
〉 Serve as the sales agent for livestock, crops, and dairy products
〉 Record financial, tax, production, and employee information
Other Names for this Career: Farmer, Rancher, Grain Farmer, Ranch Manager, Sow Farm Manager, Accredited Farm Manager (AFM), Farm Operator, Farm Manager, Dairy Farmer, Cash Crop Farmer, Agricultural Manager
EDUCATOR RUBRIC
ITEM Does Not Meet Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Farm to Table
Colony Collapse Disorder
Flower Dissection
Student was unable to accurately calculate the answers for the various equations related to raising livestock
Group did not fill in the worksheet and or did not document any additional research on colony collapse to support their recommendations
Group unable to successfully dissect, identify and label most the parts of the flower.
Student was able to accurately calculate the answers for the various equations related to raising livestock
Group filled in worksheet and completed some additional research on colony collapse to support their recommendations
Group able to dissect, identify and label most of the parts of the flower.
Student was able to accurately calculate the answers for all the equations related to raising livestock
Group filled in worksheet and completed extensive additional research on colony collapse to support their recommendations.
Group able to successfully dissect, identify and label all the parts of the flower.
Activity Discussions
Student did not participate in the activity discussion
Student actively participated in the activity discussions
Student actively participated in the activity discussion and referenced the digital videos and the written text in providing detailed answers.
ACTIVITY #1: FARM TO TABLE – HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Introduction: When you are eating a nice tender steak, have you ever wondered where the beef came from? In most cases, the beef was raised by cattle ranchers. Today, you will learn how this livestock gets from the farm to your table. You will analyze data and calculate how much it costs for ranchers to raise livestock and how that affects the price we pay at the grocery store.
Activity Description: Analyze the data given in each scenario and then calculate the rancher’s cost for raising cattle. Consider how fluctuations in those costs might influence the price we pay for beef at the grocery store.
Activity Procedure:
〉 Read the Beef Industry passage below to learn more about the cattle industry.
〉 Then analyze the information provided in each scenario and solve the problems to see the effect of the cost of raising livestock on the price we pay for beef as consumers
Beef Industry:
The beef industry has a unique lifecycle, taking up to 2-3 years for a cow to go from the farm to table. This lifecycle includes several stages. First, cows and calves are born and raised on cow-calf ranches and are weened at 6-8 months when they reach 450 to 500 lbs. They are then sold at a livestock auction to stocker and backgrounder ranches where the calves graze on grass pastures until they weigh 750 to 800 lbs. They then go to a feed yard for 4-6 months where they are fed a mixture of grass and grain. When the cows reach 1,500+ lbs., they are sent to a packing/processing plant to be slaughtered and processed and then distributed to retailers.
Cows, like some other commodities, are measured by hundredweight (Cwt). One hundred pounds equals one Cwt. For example, a cow that weighs 1,500 lbs. would be 15 Cwts. (1,500 ÷ 100 = 15). A processing plants pays $135-$165 for every 100 lbs. After processing and packaging, the plant sells the meat and byproducts to retail vendors such as restaurants and grocery stores.
Rancher Scenario: Tyler is a feed yard cattle rancher. He has 100 head of cattle that are ready to be processed. All 100 cows weigh approximately 1,600 lbs. each.
Cost Per Cow
Cost of cow (bought at auction)
Feed
Veterinary expenses
Total Cost
$1,125
$450
$200
$1,775
〉 Based on the information for 1 cow, how much money does Tyler have invested in his 100 cows?
〉 Based on mid-range of $150 per Cwt, how much money will Tyler receive for all 100 head of cattle from the Processing Plant
〉 How much money will Tyler make after expenses?
Processing Plant Scenario: The processing plant buys Tyler’s cows. A 1,600 lb. steer with ½ inch of fat and average muscling will average around 720 lbs. of retail cuts (steaks, roasts, ground beef, stew beef, etc.). 70% of the carcass is lower end cuts at $3.95 per lb., and 30% is higher end cuts at $5.94 per lb. Values of selected byproducts include the steer hide at $7.81 per hundredweight, tongues and oxtail at 96 cents per hundredweight, meat
and bone meal at 78 cents per hundredweight, livers at 58 cents per hundredweight, and hearts at 37 cents.
Calculate to determine how much money the processing plant will make.
Calculate the Total Value of Retail Cuts per Cow:
Calculate the Total Carcass Value for all Cows:
Calculate the Hundredweight (Cwt) of Total Byproducts per Cow:
Calculate the Value of Byproducts for all Cows:
Calculate the Total Processing Plant Profit:
Grocery Store Scenario: The Processing Plant sells the processed meat for the Total Carcass Amount to the local grocery store. The store sells lower end cuts on average at $5.64 per lb. and higher end cuts on average at $7.23 per lb.
Calculate the Total Grocery Store Profit:
Activity Discussion:
〉 What did this exercise show about the relationship between a single farmer’s decisions and their effect on the group’s outcome?
〉 Were there harvests where a few farmers acted drastically different from the other farmers? What was the result of their budget decisions?
〉 How did the results of early harvests influence your decisions on how much to plant for future harvests?
〉 Many farmers in this situation would attempt to coordinate the amount they plant with other farmers. What would be the benefits and drawbacks of doing this?
ACTIVITY #2: COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
Introduction: Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear, leaving behind the queen and immature bees which, without worker bees that supply the colony with pollen, eventually die and cause the colony to collapse. Let’s learn more about this phenomenon and what we can do to help save bees
Activity Description: In groups, you will learn about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it affects our food supply. After that, you will dissect a flower to get a better understanding of pollination and plant reproduction.
Activity Procedure:
Part 1 – Colony Collapse Disorder
〉 Video: Colony Collapse Disorder (http://tn-caps.com/r/92FR1)
〉 In groups, discuss the causes of Colony Collapse Disorder and ways to combat CCD.
Colony Collapse Disorder Questions:
What are some of the reasons wild bees are dying?
What are some of the things we can do to reverse CCD?
Part 2 – Dissecting a Flower
Pollination occurs when pollen moves from the male parts of the flower or plant to the female parts. Pollen grains land on the stigma and a tiny tube grows from it and down the style into the ovary. The fertilized ovule becomes the seed, and the ovary becomes the fruit.
When the wind blows, flowers or plants attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, insects, and birds. As bees collect pollen for their hive, their body hair picks up pollen from the anther of the plant. As the bee moves to another flower, the pollen from the anther is deposited on the sticky top of the new flower’s stigma, where it travels down to the ovary to fertilize the flower’s eggs which reside in ovules. Flowers and plants need bees in order to reproduce, and bees need flowers and plants to feed and sustain their colony. When this natural system breaks down, it has serious effects on the crops we depend on for food.
Now let’s dissect a flower to get a better understanding of pollination and flower reproduction. You will see how the flower uses both male and female reproductive structures to create its own ovules and fertilize itself. This allows flowers and plants to reproduce and provide the pollen and nectar that bees need to survive.
Dissecting the Male Reproductive System:
〉 Remove the sepals from the flower. Use your hands to pull each one down towards the stem. Sepals are the green leaf-like structures in between the petals and the stem.
〉 Remove the petals from the flower. Use your hands to pull each petal off towards the stem.
〉 Remove the anthers and their stems. Use your hands or scalpel to slice off the anthers. Anthers create pollen inside the stamen of the flower. The anthers are yellow with furry-looking tips and are attached to a thin stem (filament).
〉 Slice the stamens and anthers in half lengthwise with a scalpel. Be careful, the anther and stamen are very small and fragile. Inside, you will find pollen and pollen grains. The pollen fertilizes the flower’s ovules, allowing it to reproduce.
Dissecting the Female Reproductive System:
〉 Pin the remaining part of the flower to the dissection board. Insert one pin in the stigma and a second pin in the top of the stem.
〉 Slice the stigma down the middle with a scalpel. The stigma is the part of the pistil where the pollen germinates so it can fertilize the ovules. With light pressure, start at the tip of the stigma and move down through the end of the stem. Remove the pins before cutting and then replace the pins.
〉 Expose the ovary using the tip of the scalpel. The ovaries are inside of the pistil. Peel off the style of the flower from around the ovary to expose a small, white, coneshaped piece. This is where the ovules are produced.
〉 Slice the ovary open with the scalpel. Inside you will find tiny ovules with an embryo sack with eggs. Ovules contain the eggs of the flower. When the ovules are fertilized by pollen, they grow a plant embryo, which is contained in a seed until it is germinated.
Activity Discussion
:
〉 Why is pollination so important for the life-cycle of plants and bees?
〉 What are some things you can do to improve pollination?
〉 What are some things society can do to improve pollination?
