As we continue our visit about genetics let’s keep in mind that genetics and reproduction are closely tied together. A good knowledge of these two areas of science along with a strong understanding of nutrition is so very important to being successful Agriculturalists. Each of these three topics can be so deep and specialized that colleges have specific majors for students interested in these areas of study. There may be some of you out there who are saying “there he goes again, talking about college”, so at this point let me chase a rabbit concerning college. I would tell my students that college study and/or a degree is good, it contributes knowledge to your “toolbox” and opens many doors for you. But it is not necessarily a guarantee to success, you also need to have a strong work ethic to make to that college degree work for you. You can be very successful in many chosen occupations that don’t require a college education if you have that strong work ethic. I’ll now step down from my soapbox and we’ll continue with our discussion of genetics. We have been hearing the term genetically modified (gm) for the past several years and usually it is used in a negative way and people think this is new. It is NOT new, from scientists all of the way to producers people have been “modifying” or “messing” with genetics for centuries. But before we get into this discussion let’s define a couple of terms.
