AgDiscovery comes to the Dallas County scales
Our Motor Vehicle Enforcement officers often go out to trucking companies to educate drivers on what it takes to have a successful commercial vehicle inspection. A few weeks ago, our officers hosted a group of high schoolers at our Dallas County scale facility to show them what we look for
when shipping animals on Iowa highways.
The group was part the United State Department of Agriculture’s AgDiscovery program. These 16 high schoolers from around the country were selected through a competitive application process to get a glimpse into college life and careers related to veterinary medicine, animal science, laboratory diagnostics, and wildlife biology. The stop at our Iowa DOT scale site was just one day of their two-week Iowa experience.
The Iowa DOT’s MVE officers work very closely with USDA officials when it comes to the safe transportation of livestock. “Our officers are trained by the USDA on what to look for and we work very closely with their investigators if issues are found,” explained MVE Investigator Terra Kinney. “Bringing these kids out to our site gives them real-world experience related to the safe shipment of animals.”
“Being able to host these young people at our scale site and show them exactly what we look for is a great way to get them started on the right foot,” said Captain Robert Johnson. “There are a number of transportation regulations specific to animals to make sure their transport is safe, both for the animals and the public.”
The USDA’s Dr. Janet Payeur said, “The goal of our program is the get as much exposure as possible to different aspects of agricultural careers. Most of these kids enter the program thinking they want to be veterinarians. This program is geared toward showing the participants the wide range of opportunities they can choose. These hands-on, live exercises give the students a much better perspective on agricultural careers that they may not have considered.”
Kinney said, “We appreciate the partnership with USDA and the chance to show the AgDiscovery students that what we do is all about keeping both the animals and the public safer on the roads.”