AgriScience Center welcomes first animals

By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com

Since the brand new Roger D. Slaton AgriScience Center officially opened on the Dawson County High School campus at the end of May, the building has already been put to good use as agriculture students have welcomed their first round of animals to the center: 13 pigs.

The new AgriScience center includes stall space for pigs and cattle, which will greatly expand the opportunities for agriculture students at the high school. The day after officially cutting the ribbon on the new center, DCHS agriculture teacher and FFA Advisor Keith Pankey and his students moved 13 pigs into the building.

The pigs are a couple months old and will spend the summer getting acclimated to their surroundings and to the students that will be showing them.

While other high school students are out of school for the summer, the agriculture students are coming into the center every day to take care of the pigs, cleaning out their stalls and grooming their coats. The students got the chance to name their pigs names like “Dolly”, “Rosey”, and “Bonnie” and “Clyde”. The students are also beginning the process of training the pigs, using miniature marshmallows as rewards to encourage the pigs to learn behaviors.

During the next Future Farmers of America (FFA) season, the students will get the chance to represent their county and show their pigs in different events. As the school year moves forward, the plan is to add the option for students to house their dairy cows and beef cows at the AgriScience center as well.