INTRODUCTION TO THE AGRICULTURE GRAIN

PRODUCTION INDUSTRY
Grade Level: Seniors
Course Description
This course is designed to further students’ agricultural knowledge about the grain
production and help prepare students for a future job in grain production. This
course is implemented into my curriculum because it is important for a rural
community, such as this, to educate the future generation the basics of their
agriculture and help educate students to already be knowledgeable workers due to
the high demand for hired farm hands in the area. Fields of agriculture that will be
presented include topics like soil science, plant science, land preservation, and
basic farm management. This will provide insight into how to properly grows
crops, maintain the soil, and insight into the maintenance of the equipment and
how it operates.
Course Outline

First
Quarter
Intro to Ag pro  Nature and Importance of the Agriculture, Food, and Natural
Industry Resources Industry
 History of U.S. Agriculture Up to the 20th Century
 History of U.S. Agriculture from the 20th Century to Today
 Agricultural Commodities in the United States
 Trends in Consumer Preference
 Government Agencies and Private Organizations in the Agriculture,
Food, and Natural Resources Industry
 Agriculture’s Impact on the World Economy
 World Food Supply
Soils  The Nature of Soil
o Soil Formation
o Soil Profile
o Soil nutrients
o Soil Color
o Soil Texture and Structure
o Moisture-Holding Capacity of Soil
Second
Quarter
Land  Land Capability Classifications
 USDA Soil Taxonomy System
 Soil Degradation
 Soil Erosion
Calculating Soil Loss
Conservation Tillage Practices
Soil  Applying fertilizer
Maintenance  Calculating Fertilizer
 Cover Crops
 Sprayer Systems
 Irrigation Systems
 Drainage
 Tillage Systems
Plant Science  The Importance of Plant Science
 Classifying and Naming Plants
 Root anatomy
 Stem Anatomy
 Leaf anatomy and Morphology
Third
Quarter
Integrated  Weed Identification
 Weed Control
Pest
 Insect Pest Control
Management  Plant Diseases
 Pesticide Safety
 Pesticide Application
Crops  Growing Crops
o Corn Production
o Soybean Production
o Wheat Production
 Production of Small Grains
 Harvesting
 Grain Quality
 Grain Handling, Transportation, and Storage
Forth
Quarter
Planting  Precision Tech
Technologies  Monitoring Systems
 GPS
Farm  Power, Structural, and Technical Systems
Maintenance
  Safety in Power, Structural, and Technical Systems
o Proper operations
o Procedure of incase of an emergency.
o Proper attire
 Equipment Maintenance
o Oil
o Air
o Grease
o Tires
o Fuel
Introduction to Agriculture Industry
Unit: History of United States Agriculture
Objective
Examine important events throughout the history of United States Agriculture that have
established a foundation and help explain the reason certain agricultural practices exist in the
modern era.
Summative Assessment
Students will be broken into small groups and asked to create a timeline of the major
events in
United States agriculture or progressions in the industry and technology. Students will
be rewarded for creativity, accuracy of the included events and the events relevancy to
agriculture. Each group will present their timeline to the class.
Interest Approach
This will not be the first time these students will be presented this information as they
have learned most of this in Introduction to Agriculture. I challenge my students to think
outside the box and come up with timelines that interests them. This can be anything in
the Ag industry such as advancement in GMOs, grain bins, tractors, technology, and even
the changes in the equipment used.
Lessons & Formative Assessments

Importance of Students will each be given a 12x12 piece of paper and old
Agriculture, magazines,
Food and Natural students will make a photo collage centering around
Resources anything related to
agriculture and each student will present at the end of the
lesson. These will be put in a scrapbook that we can
readdress for years to come
 Agricultural History
prior to
20th Century
Agricultural History
20th Century to Today
Students will be assessed through a quiz that covers the most
important dates in United States agriculture and the key
contributors to the advancement of agriculture prior to the
20th Century.
Students will create a vin diagram that compares agriculture
prior to the 20th Century and from the 20th Century to Today.
This will help students to see that there are many agricultural
practices that have not changed, while many have changed
significantly.

Introduction to Agriculture Industry

Unit: Soil
Objective
Identify soil properties important to land use, environmental quality, plant growth, and
society/culture and be able to demonstrate the skills required to make field observations
and interpretations of soils for various uses. Retrieve and use information from a variety
of sources for land use planning and soil management decisions.
Summative Assessment
Students will be given a hypothetical plot of land to plant and they will make all the soil
management decisions and even the crops to be planted in the field. With soil tests and
the soils tool options in their hands, the students will plan their approach from start to
finish.
Interest Approach

Lessons & Formative Assessments

Define soil and understand the importance

of soil.
Explain why plants need soil.
Be familiar with how soil layers are
formed.