Apr 16, 2024
The Introduction to Agriculture class of Central Decatur took a tour to the Hawkeye Breeder facility in Adel, Iowa. We only toured one of their buildings. It was a good clean sized building with a good amount of bulls inside. We went on this trip since we are learning about the male and female reproductive systems. The class decided this tour would be a good way to further our knowledge about reproductive systems and other types of breeding. Some of the things we learned is that the facility ships semen everywhere except China. We also learned the business began in 1969 in a garage in Des Moines. Hawkeye Breeder also owns a site in Wisconsin. During the springtime is when bulls produce the most semen. There is also a record of semen that has been stored for over 50 years. A career you could have there is being the barn manager. Some of the things a barn manager could do is make sure the bulls were fed and watered when needed. A barn manager could also make sure it is clean and properly maintained. We took one of our school buses up there. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without our bus driver Rick and the time he took out of his day. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without Mr. Johnson and Ms. Sondag allowing us to attend and go up there. The class wouldn’t have had transportation if it wasn’t for Rick. Morgan Buckingham and Bianca Swartz arranged this trip and made it happen. Overall this was a great experience and we learned a lot. I would definitely recommend it to anybody to take a tour of Hawkeye Breeder.
