This course is designed for students planning for careers requiring general knowledge and basic skills in agricultural building construction and maintenance. The course content consists of proper and safe hand tool and power tool utilization. Safe utilization of these tools in lab will be a hands-on experience. Various building materials will be explained and demonstrated throughout this course. Construction techniques and methods will be presented in lecture and performed in each lab.
This internship is offered to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity in sustainable agriculture practices. Projects may involve vegetable or other crop production, farm animal management, cover crop/green manure trials, vermicomposting, woodlot improvement and other integrative initiatives appropriate to small farms. A planned program of education experiences will then be completed by the student under the supervision of an owner, manager or supervisor in their technical field or professional area.
A course designed for students who desire to understand the acquisition and analysis of geographically referenced data for the management of crop production systems. Topics include: mapping, map projections, implementation of global positioning systems, data formats, geographic information systems, grid sampling, soil fertility and physical properties, yield monitoring, variable-rate application, and economics.
The course will focus on the phenotypic evaluation of dairy cattle in relation to the productive life of the animals as well as efficiency, and the economic impact on dairy producers. Labs consist of students spending time cow-side evaluating animals via knowledge retained during lecture. Anatomy of the cow will be mastered, value of type traits will be learned, differentiation of the dairy breeds will be understood, and oral presentation skills will be honed.
Students gather and synthesize data according to a project design developed in AGRI 7001. Each student must do library research, a formal oral presentation, project demonstration, and submit a written project report.
First of a two-semester sequence required for all students earning a Bachelor of Technology in Organic and Sustainable Agriculture. Students will develop a detailed project proposal, including strategic justification, project plan, risk management, resource and costs, and evaluation plans.
The introduction to Agriculture will give students the opportunity to learn and practice a variety of agriculture skills. Skills will include care and management of dairy animals, machinery and equipment safety and operation, crop, fruit and vegetable production.
Students will learn how to site, design, and manage a small-scale vegetable farm, using organic or other sustainable practices that support niche-marketing strategies. Particular attention will be paid to crop sequences appropriate for the climates and soils of the Northeastern United States. Students will gain hands-on experience in building soil quality, starting transplants, identifying and managing pests, harvesting and marketing of vegetables. Later in the course, students will work with sustainable winter-production technologies, including passively-heated high tunne
This course will introduce students to environmentally sound methods of agriculture. The goal is to help students understand methods and technologies for using water, soil, pasture and manure resources in ways that create a biologically healthy landscape for animals and for society. This course will introduce students to a more natural approach to animal agriculture as well as to explore the synergy of an integrated organic cropping and animal agricultural systems.
A survey of microorganisms, their structures, physiology, and identification, with the various medical and non-medical implications in our daily lives. Topics include prokaryotic cell structure and function, biochemical processes, physical and chemical factors that affect cell growth, classification and identification, and physical and chemical methods of control. A major portion of the course deals with the pathogenic properties of microorganisms and the body's defense mechanisms including the functions of the immune systems.
