Santa Gertrudis Source Nov/Dec 2024

GROWING & LEARNING ABOUT SANTA GERTRUDIS AT TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY BRIAN BRUNER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF INSTRUCTION, AND REAGAN SIMS, PH.D., ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY

T he Texas State University (TXST) Department of Agricultural Sciences offers an integrated program that emphasizes experiential learning to cultivate competitive graduates prepared for a career in agri culture. Undergraduate students can specialize in ag ricultural mechanics, agricultural business and management, agricultural education, horti culture or animal science, while graduate students can pursue a master’s degree in in tegrated agricultural sciences. Many cours es, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, provide unique, resume-building ex periences outside of the classroom at Free man Ranch. Freeman Ranch is roughly 10 miles from campus and spans more than 3,500 acres. The ranch is home to a herd of about 100 commercial beef cattle that are utilized extensively for teaching and research. Thanks to generous donations of live animals, embryos and semen by many Santa Gertrudis breeders, the ranch is now home to a rapidly growing herd of pure

bred and crossbred Santa Gertrudis. This herd is integral to courses such as introduction to animal science, repro ductive physiology, ultrasonography and beef cattle pro duction. Students learn fundamental animal husbandry principles and practice them through individualized instruction due to favorably smaller class sizes. Our program ensures students graduate with practical, hands-on experiences. The animal science student body comprises non-tradi tional agricultural students, and for many, the Santa Gertrudis breed is the first cattle breed that our students have been exposed to for both education and research purposes. The agricultural sciences faculty has ad opted a wholistic research approach focusing on regenerative practices applicable to animal production. Many of these regenerative applications focus on biochar production and soil regeneration com bined with livestock grazing strategies, which has proven to be a popular topic in South Texas. Additionally, recent research has investigated and identified alternative feed

Wishing you and your family a blessed and joyful holiday season. Jesus Is the Reason For the Season!

WUNDERLICH FARMS (979) 277-2838 Brenham, Texas 77833 wunderlichfarms@gmail.com

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SANTA GERTRUDIS SOURCE

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024