Vol 59 (1), Mar 2015

 

Demographic information of students in introductory animal science courses allows instructors to tailor content to student needs and interests. This study compared student demographics with student perceptions of livestock production practices. Students in two introductory animal science sections (section A: n = 310, section B: n = 328) participated in a pre-course and a post-course survey. Both sections were comprised primarily of first-year undergraduate students; a majority was female with either horse experience or no livestock experience. Thirty percent of section A and 58% of section B was enrolled in the College of Agriculture. Forty percent of section A and 60% of section B had prior 4-H or FFA involvement. Pre-course, the sections disagreed on whether horses are pets or livestock, how media portrays agriculture, and whether slaughterhouse practices are humane. Post-course, more of section A than section B considered horses as livestock, and both sections agreed that media negatively portrays agriculture, weather has the greatest influence on producer success, and slaughterhouse practices are humane. These results suggest that students with no livestock experience may view agriculture differently than students with experience, but more exposure to livestock production issues may challenge students to evaluate their views of agriculture.