UNIT 1 Introduction How have the advancements in agriculture led to an improved standard of living for most Americans?

Objectives 1. Identify major agricultural commodities in the local area, state, nation, and world. Sequencing major changes and accomplishments in the history of agriculture Describing various agricultural organizations and their roles in the agricultural industry Defining agriculture and major divisions of the agricultural industry

Goals Students will: 1. List major agricultural commodities and where they are grown. 2. Identify significant historical advancements in the field of agriculture. 3. List and discuss the role of organizations that support agriculture. 4. Define agriculture, including the many divisions in the industry.

Introduction to Agriculture A. Agricultural Commodities B. Historical Advancements C. Agricultural Organizations D. Agriculture

Agricultural Commodities A product of agriculture or mining, something useful or valued Types of Commodities 1. Row crops 2. Fruit/vegetables 3. Livestock 4. Aquaculture 5. Nursery crops

Row Crops a crop planted in rows wide enough to allow cultivators between the rows. Most farm crops are drilled in rows, in preference to broadcasting. In round numbers, U.S. farmers produce about $100 billion worth of crops

Types of Row Crops Major agricultural crops produced in the United States in 2000 (excluding root crops, citrus, vegetable, etc). Crop Harvested Area (million acres) Cash Receipts from Sales ($ billion) Corn (grain) 72.7 15.1 Soybeans 12.5 Hay 59.9 3.4 Wheat 53.0 5.5 Cotton 13.1 4.6 Sorghum (grain) 7.7 0.82 Rice 3.0 1.2

Fruit and Vegetables Students should read pages 352- 383 in the Agriscience Fundamentals and Applications Text The study of vegetable production is called Oleiculture A vegetable is the edible portion of a herbaceous plant Herbaceous plant is a vegetable that grows and dies in a single season Two types of vegetable gardening are Home gardening and Market Gardening All vegetables belong to the group angiosperms (plants with ovaries and ovuls)

Fruit and Vegetables Vegetables can be either monocots or dicots Vegetables are classified by the parts that are eaten

Fruit and Vegetables Examples of vegetables…Can you name them all?

Fruit and Vegetables A person who is a fruit grower is a pomologist There are four groups of fruits Tree fruits: apples, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, pears, plums, and quince Small Bush Fruits: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries Vine fruits: grapes, muscadines Nuts: pecan, walnut, hickory, chestnut, etc.

Fruit and Vegetables Drupe: a fruit with a large, hard seed called a stone (peaches and plums) Pome: a fruit with a core and embedded seeds (apples and pears) Cultivar: is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable characteristics that can be maintained by propagation Rootstock: bottom half of a asexually propagated plant (grafting)

Livestock The US agriculture livestock production industry includes more than 1 million farms with combined annual revenue of about $160 billion. Includes production of cattle, poultry, sheep, swine (pigs), goats, and horses respectively.

Aquaculture Aquaculture includes the production of hatchery fish and shellfish which are grown to market size in ponds, tanks, cages, or raceways and released into the wild. Aquaculture is used to support commercial and recreational marine fisheries as well as to enhance or rebuild wild stock populations or coastal habitats such as oyster reefs.

Aquaculture Simply, the farming of fish Aquaculture production is a billion-dollar industry, with sales of fish, shellfish and related products growing by 11.7 percent over the past seven years, according to results of the 2005 Census of Aquaculture.

Nursery Crops a place where young trees or other plants are raised for transplanting, for sale, or for experimental study

Part One Quiz How have the advancements in agriculture led to an improved standard of living for most Americans? List major agricultural commodities. Define row crop. The study of vegetable production is called… A person who is a fruit grower is a… List five types/groups of livestock…

Historical Advancements Broken down into three basic parts Mechanical Scientific Biological Move to the History of Agriculture PPT inside this file.

Agricultural Organizations Alabama Cattleman’s Association http://www.bamabeef.org/ USDA http://www.usda.gov ALFA Alabama Farmers Federation www.alfafarmers.org Alabama Poultry and Egg Association Alabama Forestry Commission Alabama Cooperative Extension System www.aces.gov

Agriculture Definition: the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products

Agriculture Divisions of agriculture a. Production b. Processing c. Distribution d. Retailing e. Supplies and Service

Resume’ Writing

Cover Letter

Required of You A resume and cover letter in the style shown on the previous slides. Resume requirements You are applying for an agriculturally related position e.g. Livestock Manager, HVAC technician, electrician, etc. ***It is your job to research the salaries, education needed, etc.*** Length: One full page of Information Neatness, coherence, and style similar to that of the example from class. Point Value 50 points

Required of You Cover letter in the style mentioned in class, (HINT use the web to find examples, but don’t plagiarize) It should reflect your application and resume’ (you should be applying for the same job on each form) Length: ¾ of a page Neatness, coherence, English grammar correctness, spelling Cover letter point value: 50 points BOTH DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE TYPED IF NOT TYPED YOU WILL LOSE 25 POINTS ON EACH ASSIGNMENT The two assignments together will make up a major grade.