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Instructional Resources

Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture

Natural Science Area B 2 — Life Sciences

Course Outline

Social and Environmental Sciences

  1. The History and Development of Agriculture (pdf) (MS word)
    1. The origins of agriculture
    2. Pre-historic agricultural land use and environmental impacts
    3. Cultures with sustainable forms of agriculture
    4. The development and dissemination of modern agricultural technologies and land use practices
    5. The extent of state, national, and global agricultural land use
    6. Human population growth, anticipated demands upon agricultural ecosystems, and the need for sustainable agricultural systems
  2. Environmental Quality and Human Health Issues in Modern Agriculture (pdf) (MS word)
    1. Agricultural nutrients and environmental quality
      1. The basic role of fertilizers in plant nutrition
      2. The production of synthetic fertilizer
      3. Synthetic fertilizer use trends: state, national, international
      4. Production benefits of synthetically compounded fertilizers
      5. Effects of synthetic fertilizers on the soil biological community and soil quality
      6. Effects of high nutrient inputs on insect and pathogen pest populations
      7. Synthetic fertilizer and its application: Timing and the potential for crop uptake and nutrient loss
      8. Environmental quality impacts and risks of nutrient pollution
      9. Human health risks associated with fertilizer pollution
      10. Energy use in the formulation of synthetic fertilizers
    2. Synthetic pest control agents
      1. Synthetic pesticides and how they function
      2. Trends in crop losses and types of loss due to pest damage
      3. Advantages of synthetic pesticide use
      4. Trends in pesticide use: California, U.S., international
      5. Agro-ecosystem impacts from pesticides
      6. Mechanisms for human and environmental exposure to pesticides: drift, runoff, leaching, and occupational exposure
      7. Known environmental impacts and risks of pesticides
      8. Known and potential human health risks of pesticide exposure
      9. Energy use in the production of synthetic pest control agents
    3. Tillage
      1. The role of tillage in agricultural systems
      2. Soil quality impacts of intensive tillage
      3. Environmental impacts of intensive tillage: Carbon loss, effects of erosion on downstream or downwind ecosystems
      4. Energy use in mechanical tillage
    4. Water use
      1. Water requirements in agriculture
      2. Types of water application: Rain-fed vs. irrigated systems
      3. Water diversion and impacts to wild ecosystems
      4. Water diversion and habitat enhancement in California rice agroecosystems
      5. Irrigation and soil salinity
      6. Irrigation efficiency and nutrient losses
    5. Monoculture production systems
      1. Definition and examples of monoculture production systems
      2. Production advantages of monoculture production systems
      3. Monocultures and the loss of crop and agroecosystem biodiversity
      4. Monocultures, agroecosystem biodiversity, and the internal regulation of pest populations
      5. Monocultures and pesticide dependence
    6. Genetically engineered organisms in agriculture
      1. Genetic engineering/transgenic organisms defined and technology described
      2. Potential advantages of genetically engineered organisms in agriculture
      3. Environmental quality risks of transgenic organisms
      4. Agroecosystem risks of transgenic organisms
      5. Human health risks of transgenic organisms
    7. Confined feeding operations (CFO)
      1. History of integrated plant/animal systems
      2. Definition and description of CFO
      3. Advantages of confined animal production systems
      4. Nutrient concentration and pollution in CFO
      5. Effects on animal health and behavior
      6. CFOs, odors, and impacts to surrounding communities
      7. Energy use and nutrient efficiency in CFO-based animal agriculture
    8. Energy use in agriculture
      1. Energy use in the production of agricultural inputs
      2. Energy use in tillage and irrigation
      3. Energy use in national and international transportation of food products
      4. Energy use in food processing, packaging, and refrigeration
      5. The environmental impacts of energy use in agriculture
    9. Impacts to wild biodiversity
      1. The extent of habitat loss due to conversion to agriculture
      2. Impacts to wild species from exposure to agricultural chemicals
      3. Impacts to wild species due to water diversion
      4. Impacts to wild species due to erosion and sediment runoff
      5. Pest management of large mammalian predators
  3. Exploring Sustainability in Agriculture (pdf) (MS word)
    1. Native/natural ecosystems
      1. Ecosystem structure and organization
      2. Ecosystem processes and functions
    2. Agricultural ecosystems
      1. Agro-ecosystem structure and organization
      2. Agro-ecosystem processes and functions
    3. Defining sustainable agriculture
      1. Popular definitions of sustainable agriculture
      2. The debate over the definition of sustainable agricultural
    4. Forms of sustainable agriculture
      1. Traditional agriculture
      2. Agroecology
      3. Certified Organic agriculture
      4. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and low input agriculture
    5. Principles and strategies for designing sustainable farming systems
    6. Ecological indicators of agricultural sustainability
    7. Comparisons of the environmental performance of alternative, certified organic, and conventional agricultural production systems
    8. Social and economic sustainability in the food and agriculture system
      1. Community food security
      2. Economic viability of small-scale agriculture
      3. Economic viability of regional food systems
      4. Quality of life for farmers
      5. Equitable living and working conditions for agricultural workers
    9. The environmental and social values implicit in sustainable agriculture

Plant Science

  1. Basic Plant Anatomy and Physiology (pdf) (MS word)
    1. Basic anatomy of cultivated plants
    2. Photosynthesis and respiration
    3. Water and nutrient uptake
    4. Plant growth stages and nutrient demands of cultivated plants
    5. The plant growth environment and plant growth responses
    6. Reproduction and genetics

Soil Science

  1. Soil Quality and Sustainable Agriculture
    1. Physical properties of soils (pdf) (MS word)
      1. Soil constituents
      2. Major soil physical properties
      3. The influence of soil physical properties on soil quality, fertility, plant health, and the resistance and resilience of crop plants to pests and pathogens
      4. Soil management strategies for the maintenance of desirable soil physical properties
    2. Chemical properties of soils (pdf) (MS word)
      1. Essential macro- and micro- plant nutrients
      2. Nutrient cycling in agricultural soils
      3. Benchmarks of soil chemistry/fertility
      4. Soil management for the development and maintenance of optimal nutrient levels and cycling of nutrients
      5. Soil fertility, plant health, and the resistance and resilience of crop plants to pests and pathogens
      6. Nutrient deficiencies and symptoms
    3. Biological properties of soils (pdf) (MS word)
      1. The soil food web
      2. The role of soil organisms in nutrient cycling
      3. Soil biological diversity and pest and disease prevention
      4. Biological indicators of soil quality
      5. Soil management strategies used in maintaining optimal soil biological properties

Crop Science

  1. Soil Fertility Management and Sustainable Farming Systems(pdf) (MS word)
    1. Goals and strategies of sustainable soil fertility management
      1. Manage soil organic matter for soil quality/fertility
      2. Maintain crop productivity and crop quality
      3. Prevent pests and disease-causing organisms through soil fertility, crop rotation, and biodiversity of farming system
      4. Reduce dependence on off-farm soil fertility inputs through biological nitrogen fixation and efficient use of off-farm inputs
      5. Reduce environmental pollution from agriculture through efficient use of water and nutrient inputs
    2. Sustainable soil fertility management practices/strategies
      1. Cover cropping (pdf) (MS word)
      2. Crop rotation (pdf) (MS word)
      3. Soil testing and nutrient management (pdf) (MS word)
      4. Conservation tillage and cultivation (pdf) (MS word)
      5. Compost production and use (pdf) (MS word)
      6. Supplemental fertility (pdf) (MS word)
      7. Advantages and disadvantages of alternative soil fertility management practices
      8. National Organic Program standards for soil fertility management

Animal Science

  1. Sustainable Livestock-Based Agricultural Systems (pdf) (MS word)

* Indicates use of college farm resources for laboratory exercise and/or skill development.

    1. Ecological principles and agroecology of livestock production systems
      1. Ecosystem structures
      2. Interdependence of biotic and abiotic components
      3. Nutrient cycling
    2. Role of livestock in farming systems
      1. History of livestock in farming systems: global, national, local
      2. Breeds and their characteristics
      3. Animal health and forage quality in temperate, tropical, and intermediate climates
      4. Food and nutrition
      5. Human, animal and environmental well being in animal agriculture
      6. Economic, social, political, and cultural justifications for animal husbandry
      7. Systems’ productivity potentials without and with livestock
      8. Environmentally sound livestock management practices
      9. Biodiversity conservation in range management
      10. Case studies in sustainable animal agriculture
    3. Management for sustainable livestock production
      1. Management objectives: What is being managed and why?
      2. Definitions, productivity, and management option for grasslands, pasturelands, rangelands, and croplands
      3. Systems combinations and their management
      4. Sustainable vs. conventional livestock production systems
      5. Assessing pasture and soil resources for utilization and impact*
    4. National Organic Program standards for livestock production

Pest Management

  1. Pest Management and Sustainable Farming Systems

* Indicates use of college farm resources for laboratory exercise

    1. Arthropod pest management (pdf) (MS word)
      1. IPM and IPM management strategies
      2. Preventative pest management strategies*
      3. Arthropod monitoring*
      4. Identification of arthropod pests and beneficial insects*
      5. Damage assessment and determining control action thresholds*
      6. National Organic Program standards for pest control materials
      7. Tools and techniques for active management of arthropod pests
    2. Weed management (pdf) (MS word)
      1. Preventive weed management strategies
      2. Weed identification*
      3. Weeds as indicators of soil conditions*
      4. Determining control action thresholds for weeds*
      5. National Organic Program-accepted management measures
      6. Cultivation tools and techniques for weed management*
    3. Pathogen management (pdf) (MS word)
      1. Preventive plant pathogen management strategies
      2. Monitoring for plant pathogens*
      3. Identification of plant pathogens*
      4. Damage assessment and defining control action thresholds*
      5. National Organic Program-accepted control measures*
    4. Vertebrate pest management (pdf) (MS word)
      1. Preventive vertebrate pest management strategies
      2. Damage assessment and determining control action thresholds
      3. Tools and techniques for vertebrate pest management*
      4. National Organic Program-accepted management measures

Natural Resources Management

  1. Irrigation and Sustainable Farming Systems (pdf) (MS word)
    1. The role of irrigation in arid and semi-arid farming systems
    2. The movement and cycling of water in agricultural systems
    3. Tools and techniques for the efficient delivery of irrigation water
  1. Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture (pdf) (MS word)
    1. Agro-biodiversity: Conservation of genetic diversity of crop and livestock varieties
    2. Wild biodiversity conservation: Production practices, on-farm habitat enhancement, and landscape ecology and planning

Conclusion

  1. The Adoption of Sustainable Farming Practices: Directions for and Obstacles to Change (pdf) (MS word)
    1. Human population growth and diet
    2. Consumers accustomed to historically low U.S. food prices (percent of income spent on food relative to other nations)
    3. Consumer awareness of externalized costs of production and the demand for sustainably produced products
    4. Federal and State agricultural labor standards
    5. Agricultural labor supply and demand
    6. U.S./Federal immigration and labor laws
    7. The organization of the agricultural labor force
    8. Federal and state regulation of synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use
    9. Federal and state technical and financial support encouraging the adoption of sustainable farming practices
    10. Federal and state financial support for natural and social science research into sustainable farming systems
    11. The shortcomings of federal standards for certified organic agriculture
  1. The Growth and Development of Sustainable Agriculture and the Organic Food Industry(pdf) (MS word)
    1. Development and growth of the sustainable and organic foods industry
    2. Case studies in small- and large-scale sustainable and organic agriculture

 

Download Course Outline (pdf) (MS Word)