Agricultural Science in the first few weeks of Term 2 has been action-packed with the UQ Sunflower competition well under way, the Ekka Hyline hens arriving last week and the DAF Hermitage Plant Science Competition barley disease investigation starting and MORE!

2019’s UQ Sunflower competition has seen Courtney gain prime position for her sunflower which has resulted in a very healthy, large and absolutely beautiful sunflower. Not to be outdone, Nikola’s sunflower has reached for new record heights of 3.2 meters! The class will be videoing their harvest in the coming weeks and seeing just how much their sunflower heads weigh in total. As an added bonus this year, they will also see how much seed weight they have produced, and earn harvest dollars for every gram of seed!

The Ekka Hyline hens’ arrival has brought much happiness and laughter to the Ag plot. The Aggies will be looking after the hens up until the Ekka, where they will then be judged for how the hens look, data and research conducted and most importantly egg production and quality. The hens have settled in very well already and even joined the students in their classroom.

The DAF Hermitage Plant Science Competition has students investigate the susceptibility of Barley to Net Blotch Disease. The students have had to inoculate (infect) barley plants they have grown, and will be analysing the growth of the Net Blotch Disease over time. They hope to determine which varieties are resistant to the disease and which are not. This investigation has certainly ensured that the students are immersed in real-world learning opportunities!

Finally, the Year 10 Aggies were blessed by a visit from Green Valley’s very own beekeepers and got a full lesson on Flow Hives and of course taste the sensational farm honey. The students are now eager to start bottling and selling this liquid gold! Thanks so much to Bruce and Kelcy for their time and passion!