Agricultural Science Curriculum

 

AGSC 100: AGRICULTURE

Dr. Glenn Wehner
3076 Magruder Hall
 785-4593
gwehner@truman.edu


CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION

A multidisciplinary study of the structure and function of agriculture systems and of their impact on humanity and the environment. Includes laboratory. May not be taken for an elective by Agriculture majors. 4hours. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer

PREREQUISITES

None

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

The objectives of this course are to teach knowledge, skills, and attitudes which Truman believes are essential for a liberally educated person. John R. Kirk, the fourth President of our institution, said, "Education in agriculture is an essential utility because it is the only means of furnishing adequate conceptions of the fundamental occupation of mankind upon which all other occupations now depend; but education in agriculture is also a basis of true culture and refinement... by use of agriculture we hope not only to further enrich the curriculum but to strengthen it as a whole and bring its elements into unity."

Specific objectives for the course are as follows:

• To provide students with information about how food is produced and delivered. Educated people should know where their food comes from, how it arrives to them, and how long the supply might last.
• To provide student with a course that asks them to integrate knowledge from several different disciplines and to apply this mixture to the study of a dingle entity, agriculture.
• To teach about science and scientific method through the study of agriculture and to ask students to consider the question of who or what science and technology is suppose to serve. To help students learn how to obtain scientific and technical information.
• To provide students with hands-on-experience which shows them the connectedness of what they learn in lecture or in reading with what happens in the real world.
• To ask students to think carefully about their own values and the values of other people with respect to land, water, livestock, and people and to ask students to consider the plight of hungry people and the difficulties of feeding them.
• To provide students with further practice in problem solving.

EXPECTATIONS OF THE STUDENT

Three examinations
One final examination
Laboratory reports

COURSE OUTLINE

Introduction

• What are agriculture and an agricultural system?
• How can agricultural systems be studied?
  1. science and scientific method
  2. science versus technological innovation
  3. study of the components
  4. study of the whole

The structure of agricultural systems

• Soils
  1. definition and role in the system
  2. origin and development
  3. physical properties and their relation to human uses
  4. erosion
• Water
  1. the water cycle and the role of water in the system
  2. the water needs of crop plants
  3. irrigation
• Crops and livestock
  1. kinds that feed the world and role in the system
  2. origin
  3. evolution and breeding
  4. energy flow (primary and secondary productivity)
  5. nutrient cycles versus nutrient flow (nitrogen and other minerals)
• Pests
  1. kinds, roles, and significance in the system
  2. origin and evolution
  3. history of pest control
  4. risks and benefits of pesticides and agricultural pharmaceuticals
• Technology
  1. history of agricultural mechanization (on the farm and in the processing, storage, and delivery systems)
  2. use of fossil fuels in US agriculture, energy balance of the U.S. and other systems
  3. impacts of agricultural mechanization on humans
     • displacement of labor
     • hard tomatoes
• Humans
  1. hunters/ gatherers versus agrarians, the origin and place of agriculture in society and culture
  2. roles in the system
  3. impact of humans on the US agricultural system
     • market forces
     • agricultural policy
     • US agricultural services (research and extension, credit services, soil conservation, etc.)
  4. impact of US agriculture on humans
     • rural communities
     • food safety

The future of agriculture in the US

• the sustainability of US agricultural systems
• alternatives for the future

TEXTBOOK

Unfortunately no single textbook exists for this area. However, there are numerous short publications and reprints available from a variety of sources which adequately cover the range of topics this course will present and which are relatively inexpensive

BASIS OF STUDENT EVALUATION

Three examinations
Final examination
Short laboratory reports
In-depth laboratory report and presentation

Final grades to be awarded on a straight scale, minimum percentage for an "A" will be 90%, for a "B" 80%, for a "C" 70%, and for a "D" 60%