Riverland Community College

This course provides an orientation into the profession of agricultural sciences. Combining theoretical and practical knowledge, students investigate plants, the principles and practices of crop production and management, precision farming, sustainability, biotechnology, marketing and sales related to agriculture. A special emphasis on real-world, innovative problem solving will provide students with a background to further specialize in producing and improving food crops. Important current societal issues related to modern agriculture are discussed throughout.

(3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

This course investigates the formation, classification, and composition of soils, with emphasis on environmental quality, chemical and physical properties affecting growth and nutrition of plants.  Management principles and practices are used to increase productivity and conserve soil and water resources for agronomic crops.

(3 Cr – 2 lect 1 lab)

This course provides students with a foundation in agribusiness management.  Employers desire a combination of technical and business management skills in potential employees.  This course includes the study of critical agribusiness skills and their application in the agribusiness industry.

(3 Cr – 3 lect, 0 lab)

Crop production and management practices for soybean, corn and other crops of economic importance to the region are analyzed.  The class emphasizes management practices including cover crops, crop rotation, conservation tillage and cultivation.  Plant characteristics related to growth, development, pests and diseases are examined.  Problem solving is stressed related to local conditions to maximize yields.  An emphasis is placed on sustainable agriculture practices.  Students apply and practice skills in a farm setting.

(4 Cr – 2 lect, 2 lab)

Students are introduced to basic concepts, theories, operations, tools, and applications of precision agriculture, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).  The precision agriculture component of this course studies how the productivity of a field is optimized by agronomic inputs based on real-time data variability found within a field.  Operating principles of electronic equipment used in precision agriculture along with basic diagnosis of common equipment malfunctions are introduced.  GIS concepts, map projections and coordinate systems, basic data models, data sources and types, operations and processing, and GIS analysis and spatial modeling are introduced.  Principles of GPS and how these systems operate to improve accuracy are included in the course.    

(4 Cr – 3 lect, 1 lab)