This content was published: October 1, 2021. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
October 2021
Avery Thompson
Greetings from the Rock Creek campus farm! It’s been a little while since I shared an update on farm happenings, so here’s a recap of the year thus far.
The animals fared just fine in the February snowstorm. In fact, I think they enjoyed the peace and quiet of the fresh snowfall. Lambing season started in late January and ended in mid February. From eight ewes we got a total of twenty lambs, and as usual, they were dang cute!
If you have driven through campus lately, you might have noticed a few new wooden animal shelters out in some of the pastures. Big thanks to Cheryl Scott who found the funding for these much needed shelters!
The heat dome in June was a bit of a shock to all of us, but with plenty of shade and water, the animals did alright. The rabbits thoroughly enjoyed laying on frozen water bottles to keep cool. In July, we acquired some new additions to the farm- four male Angora rabbits. They will be used in the Vet Tech program, and are already getting lots of love from students and staff.
Due to the droughts this summer, there is a shortage of grass hay in Oregon. Because of this, the cow herd was reduced by half. Our remaining bovine friends are happily grazing the pastures around campus.
It’s been great seeing campus open up a little more, and having Vet Tech students out at the farm for labs. Recently our second year students learned how to draw blood from the cattle and sheep. Very cool to see students getting more comfortable working with large animals!
I really love our campus farm, and feel grateful to be a part of the Rock Creek family as your campus farmer! Thanks for reading,
-Avery