STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM is an integral part of agriculture and food production in many ways:
- Science: scientists in agriculture study topics genetics, environmental science, soil science, and more. Studying these topics help make farming more efficient and sustainable.
- Technology: a successful farming operation utilizes technical systems on all levels. Tractors, watering sensors, and feeding rates are all pieces of technology that farmers use everyday.
- Engineering: engineers work in agriculture to make systems more efficient. Without engineers, we wouldn’t have speedy harvesting equipment or sturdy buildings for animal production.
- Mathematics: every farmer uses basic math daily. They have to count rows in a field, calculate how much food an animal needs, or temperature changes throughout the day.
Modern agriculture wouldn’t exist without the principles of STEM! Advancement in the industry relies on scientists, technicians, engineers, and mathematicians.
In the Poultry Education Center, we talk about the basics of STEM and how it’s used on our farm. We like to emphasize that classroom topics are used in the real world and in real careers.