Day 1 by Nick

Our first stop was at The Ohio State University where we heard Brad Collins speak to us about one of the colleges in the university. He is part of OBIC, the Ohio Bioproducts Innovation Center. He talked about how the plastics we used to use are different than the plastics we can find today. Instead of using fossil fuels they are using soybeans, corn and other plant materials. They call this new plastic a bioplastic. 

He showed us the different types of products that contain the bioplastics. For example, he showed us dish soap, 2-cycle motor oil, a kitchen cutting board and a foam ball that is an example of the inside of car seats. I also found it very interesting the things he shared about Henry Ford and the things he introduced to the society.

Amy Jo Baughman talked to us about the College of Agriculture. We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to her. She also shared with us what it takes to become a college student. She introduced Cody Myers to us who showed us around the campus. He shared lots of good information with us. For example, the older arena has an underground tunnel so that cattle could be brought in to the classroom. Then we got to see some of the big equipment that students can learn about and use on the university’s land.

 

From OSU we went to the Delaware CountyFair and the Little Brown Jug. Mrs. Sandy Kuhn, the Delaware County Fair Director, spoke to us about the history of the fair. She introduced Brian and Jennifer Brown who talked about how they work together to train horses for Standardbred racing. He was able to share with us the details of the care of the hooves of the horse and how important this is. Having an understanding about the type of track affects how the horses hooves are cared for. So if the track is sandy the horse does not need shoes. Most European horses are not shod. We also got to go outside to visit the very energetic horses. We were able to meet some of the members of the fair board and learn about what they do. I thought Mr. Howard was the coolest, showing us a little auctioneer action!

  

They were very gracious to provide us with pizza. It was a great first day of the Summer Ag Tour.