AGSY 470 - Food Systems Science

Credits: 5
LEC hours per week: 5
This course examines and applies the environmental, social, and economic components of sustainable farming systems. It emphasizes principles, concepts, and the techniques of sustainable production and post-harvest handling of crops, food quality and safety, marketing of products, financing and budgeting, labor issues, and sustainable agriculture policy and regulation. Students will research and choose topics for their capstone project.
Course Outcomes:

Differentiate types of sustainable agriculture systems, their origins, and advantages and disadvantages.
Develop and defend soil and nutrient management plans for sustainable crop production that optimize nutrient cycling and minimize environmental degradation.
Design,and justify pest management plans that emphasize proactive systems approach and minimize curative control measures.
Integrate cultural practices such as crop rotation and cover cropping into sustainable farming systems.
Formulate and present a finance plan, operating budget, labor plan, and marketing plan for an agribusiness.
Evaluate, quantify and assess the sustainability of a business.

Course Topics:

Sustainability and the origins and development of agriculture
Types of sustainable agriculture systems
Soil and nutrient management in sustainable systems
Water management in sustainable systems
Pest management in sustainable systems
Post-harvest strategies
Cropping and crop management systems
Marketing, business, and financing strategies