Photo Story: Life, death and birth on Witter Farm

The students get to work at 6 a.m. and leave at 10:30 p.m. or later. They are there for the birth, life and death of the animals they take care of. These students work on Witter Farm, also called the J. Franklin Witter Teaching & Research Center, located only a five-minute drive from campus. As part of their classes, animal and veterinary science (AVS) students work on Witter Farm, in Old Town, Maine. Though it is a part of their education, Rose Arsenault, a second year AVS student, describes the farm chores as being “More of an unpaid internship than a class.” Despite this, these students know that the skills they learn here will be essential, as they learn how to take care of the cows and manage their health. The schedule can be grueling. There are four shifts throughout the day: “AM chores,” which start at 6 a.m.; “Noon Check,” which starts at 11 a.m.; “PM chores,” which start at 4 p.m.; and “Night Check,” which starts at 10 p.m. Students are often awake by 5 a.m.

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