Birthing Center Opportunity at the MD State Fair - 3/24

Animal Science Undergraduate and IAA Students,

Once again, we’ve been invited to operate the Maryland State Fair Birthing
Center.  This is a great opportunity for those of you interested in getting real,
hands-on farm animal experience and are interested in a career in animal
management, are applying to veterinary school, are going to graduate school
or are just interested in sharing your love and knowledge of farm animals
with the public. Six students will be hired (yes, you will be paid!) and
trained by me and Dr. Rachael Quinn in the care of sows, dairy cows and
their offspring before, during and after parturition (also hatching chicks!).
These educational and enjoyable tasks will be carried out at the Maryland
State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Fall classes at UMCP will start on August
31 and run through the end of the fair, but we’ll make sure you get time off
to attend classes.
This year the fair will again follow its “three weekend” schedule. It will
start on Thursday evening, August 27, at 5pm (but we we’ll start on
Wednesday afternoon, the 26 th , that first week) then run all day Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, then be closed the following Monday through
Wednesday. It will open again on Thursday, September 3 at 5pm and be
open Friday through Labor Day Monday night. It will then be closed
Tuesday and Wednesday before reopening on Thursday evening,
September10 at 5pm and be open the following Friday, Saturday and
Sunday, for a total of 12.5 days. Note that the fair starts the week before
UMD classes do.
Our group is formally known as the "University of Maryland Agricultural
Fair Team" and we are easily recognized by our bright red coveralls. The
Fair will provide housing for us at a nearby hotel and provides many of our
meals through State Fair vendors. You will work long hours and be totally
exhausted by the time the fair ends, but you will have had the experience of
a lifetime!
If you are interested in working with us and can commit to the 12.5 days
at the fair and a training day in late May or June (date to be determined
based on our schedules), apply by replying to this email by COB,
Tuesday, March 24. I will review the applications and those selected for
interview will be contacted to schedule their interview, which will be in
my Campus office in April. With your reply, send a resume containing
relevant information for this job and a transcript (unofficial is ok) of your
college work. Note: You must, at a minimum, have already completed
ANSC 101 and ANSC 103, earned a B- or better in both of those classes
and have a CGPA of 2.5 or better through the Fall 2025 semester. You
must also be enrolled as an ANSC undergraduate or IAA student
through the Fall 2026 semester to participate. Make sure your resume
lists and describes all your animal experience. Finally, make sure your
resume includes any experience you may have had in public speaking. All
this correspondence may be done by email ( tgh@umd.edu ). If you prefer
to send hard copy, my snailmail address is 25518 Burnt Hill Rd.,
Clarksburg, MD 20871.
Based on your transcripts and resumes, I will narrow the number of
candidates down to 10 or fewer finalists. I will then ask each of those
finalists to set up an interview time (I will accommodate your class, study
and exam schedules) in April. Each finalist will give a 1-2 minute
presentation that will simulate a talk that would be given to a group of lay
people (who have no farm background or experience) who are being taken
on a tour through a barn at the fair. You will get to choose which one farm
animal species (beef cattle, horses, dairy cattle, broiler chickens, laying hens,
sheep, meat goats, dairy goats, pigs or rabbits) you will tell them about. And
I will ask you questions, just like the folks you are “talking to” would. The
interviews will take about 15-20 minutes.
I would prefer that you be fully vaccinated for COVID 19 and the seasonal
flu but I won’t require it. I’m an old guy with multiple underlying health
conditions who would not fare well if I caught COVID or the seasonal flu. I
also have enough experience with animal vaccines (our domestic animals
thrive because of herd immunity!) to know that not every vaccination
“takes” and that you or I could remain vulnerable, even after being fully
vaccinated. Many of our Birthing Center tasks will require that we be in
close contact with each other and hundreds of members of the general
public, so there is no way that we can maintain social distance. The
emergence of new variants, new surges or the emergence of new viruses
may change vaccination needs or requirements.
I look forward to seeing your applications, meeting you and working with 6
of you at the Maryland State Fair Birthing Center, the ultimate reality show.

Tom Hartsock, Ph. D., Associate Professor Emeritus, Animal and Avian
Sciences, and former Director of the Institute of Applied Agriculture.