Agriculture Weekend Experience (AWE) gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and meet people in the farming industry. AWE is tailored towards students studying agriculture who do not have a background in farming. Besides experiencing production farming, the program provides a firsthand glimpse into the heart of Iowa. AWE is co-sponsored by the Agricultural Endowment board and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“I’ve never had a chance to see what I’ve learned in class take place in the real world.”

Spending hours memorizing the anatomy of a cow or understanding weather patterns is sometimes more like a challenge for a good grade than a useful tool. However, after spending a weekend on a working Iowa farm, three students majoring in animal science and meteorology saw firsthand the importance of this knowledge in real-life situations. “I’ve never had a chance to see what I’ve learned in class take place in the real world,” said Kathy Mou, junior in animal science from Frederick, Md. Mou, along with two other students from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, spent the weekend of April 25-27, experiencing life on a working farm in northeast Iowa.

Mou took her major in animal science one step further by participating in the AWE program and spending a day on a 300 - cow dairy farm.

Traveling from Maryland to Iowa for school, Mou hoped to better understand Midwest culture. “Coming from an urban background with little experience in agricultural farming, I am very curious about this spectrum of American culture: rural communities and farming,” said Mou.

Iowa States colors, cardinal and gold, decorate the quilt square on the front of the Lursen’s barn, which can be viewed from the road. The quilt square is a symbol of rural community and can be seen across Iowa; each farm displaying their own design.

Monica Lursen, member of the Agricultural Endowment board and AWE host, is a supporter of the Agriculture Weekend Experience. “Any experience that offers students new opportunities to taste new cultures and lifestyles can’t help but enhance their ability to cope with and understand other people and circumstances in their future choice of professions,” she said.

Alexandra Reyes of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, a sophomore studying animal science/pre-vet, meets a potential patient while participating in the AWE program.

“Farming is so much more than just planting and taking care of some animals.”

Meeting a dairyman who moved halfway across the world to continue his profession was another eye-opening experience. Three years ago, Eduard Rueling and his family at Snow Rock dairy, left the Netherlands and their 60-head dairy farm to milk 300 cows in Iowa. The choice for Rueling was worth taking to continue dairy farming. “In the Netherlands there is a quota system, I couldn’t milk more than 60 head so I came here,” said Rueling. He stressed the importance of being informed about the different technology and ideas used in agriculture around the world.

The day included a very close look at all aspects of dairy farming, including the nutrition, technology, genetics and employment challenges.

Having taken a dairy science class, Alexandra Reyes, a sophomore in animal science, found the management and protocols intriguing. “This provides great insight into a career for an animal science major,” Reyes said as she slowly walked up to a brown-eyed, cud-chewing cow. “Farming is so much more than just planting and taking care of some animals.” Coming from a big city in Puerto Rico, Reyes experience in agriculture was limited to only coursework.

Freshman Florianne Rivera takes the wheel during a driving lesson by Larry Lursen. Lursen rode shotgun while Rivera drove the planter through the barnyard and around the field.

“Before I thought that farming was so simple, but I thought wrong, farming is so complex and something you learn throughout your life.”

Florianne Rivera, a freshman in meteorology from Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, also experienced being on a farm for the first time. “It is interesting to see what it is like to work on a farm; I have a better insight on how much hard work they [farmers] put in harvesting their crops.” Rivera stayed with hosts Larry and Monica Lursen. Lursens live in a quiet home surrounded by fields on the outskirts of Shell Rock.

Riding inside the sunny cab of Lursen’s truck on Saturday morning, Lursen explained to Rivera the risks and decisions involved with crop production. The spring rain the day before was a prime example of the unpredictability farmers face. With washed out roads and flooded fields, planting corn would be delayed until the ground was firm enough to drive a tractor in the field.

Later Lursen gave a quick driving lesson to Rivera who sat behind the wheel of a large tractor and planter. Rivera grinned from the cab of the tractor as Lursen calmly told her where to find the clutch. “Before I thought that farming was so simple, but I thought wrong, farming is so complex and something you learn throughout your life” she said.

Don Ahrens explains to Kathy Mou and Alexandra Reyes, how to predict crop yields by counting the number of kernels around an ear of corn. As a retired agriculture professor at Iowa State, Ahrens still loves taking time to teach.

Every moment is a teaching moment with Don and Marylou Ahrens at Prairie View Farms in Osage. Don and Marylou Ahrens, members of the Agricultural Endowment Board and AWE hosts, use their teaching experiences from past AWE programs to ensure the students understand every aspect of farming.

Don Ahrens explained the process used to buy equipment and the ins and outs to locating a fair price for a valuable piece of land. Given the knowledge, Mou and Reyes did their research on Ahren’s computer to find a good deal.

After a weekend of driving tractors, feeding calves and discussing crop yields around the dinner table, everyone met for lunch at Prairie View Farms and bid farewell. Pictured from left: Alexandra Reyes, Marylou Ahrens, Don Ahrens, Florianne Rivera and Kathy Mou.

With invitations and promises to visit again, Mou, Reyes and Rivera bid farewell to the Lursens and Ahrens and headed back to a week of studying – this time with a producer’s point of view.

AWE Spring 2008
AWE 2007
AWE 2006