Ames, Iowa — Iowa State University’s student-run farm, known as Ag 450, is marking eight decades in operation.
Skyler Rinker, an ISU ag ed professor, says students get to learn about the day-to-day work required to run a farm, everything from the financial side to feeding livestock to fine-tuning combines.
Over the 80 years, the farm has planted a host of crops, with livestock ranging from cows, pigs and chickens to mules. The first tractor was purchased in 1950, and the first beef production program began in the 1960s.
Cooper Warner, an ISU senior in ag business, says he’s learning valuable lessons on Ag 450.
Just in sheer size, the farm was founded on the Ames campus with 187 acres, while it’s grown to more than 600 acres today.
Some 80 to 100 students enroll in the course every year.
