1. Module 1 – Sunshine Farms Enterprises has a Problem
Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Agriculture: A Practical Applications Course

2. Sunshine Farms Enterprises
Sunshine Farms Enterprises (SFE) is a small, agr concern that was started by two small farmers who banded together to share resources. 15 years later, they are a growing small business that is facing the issues that all businesses face when growing from small to large.
SFE employs many interns and younger farmers that have either entered the Ag industry right out of high school as well as those that have recently graduated from the large state Ag land-grant university.
In the meantime, SFE continues to run a profitable and slowly growing business that grow faster or face being acquired by a large national conglomerate farming business
SFE knows that it must increase profitability to remain competitive but innovation costs both time and money that will eat into the businesses’ already slim bottom line

3. Sunshine Farms Information
SFE has 4 smaller agriculture business lines that make up its farming and ranching operation:
A 300 acre farm of row crops out behind the house where one of its farmers lives. On this land, the resident farmer applies tried and true farming techniques and management principles, but even he admits that he has not kept up with all of the Best Practices and technologies because he is too busy running the business. He recognizes that he has areas of this farm that could be improved to increase crop yield, but Crop Consultants want a lot of money for something that he believes he knows how to do better than they – and that is “farm his land.”

4. Sunshine Farms Information
500 acre ranch where SFE keeps 160 head of cattle that they sell commercially to market. The land that they have (per head) is just about the right size, but SFE management suspects that they could place more cattle within and not lose any quality. They also have the typical rancher problems of keeping count, broken fences, and predators that would like to consume the calves.

5. Sunshine Farms information
A 180 acre orchard: The orchard hasn’t been producing as much as it can and SFE knows it. One of the younger farmers that work the orchard want SFE to change out for another row crop, but local management is sticking to their guns and saying that what they need is to find a way to make it work like it should, not walk away from a challenge.

6. Sunshine Farms Information
A 600 acre piece of land is not connected to the other three farms that are back near the resident farmer’s house. SFE bought this piece of land because is was for sale at a great price and they recognized it as something that could be developed in the future to keep this local (collective) farm competitive within an already very competitive industry. SFE is not sure what the land would be best used for – maybe more row crops, or more cattle, or maybe even something completely different.

7. SFE’s Newest Intern: Caitlin
Caitlin is a Junior at her home state’s biggest and best Agricultural school. She loves the farm that she is interning at and really likes farming, but as a student, she is being exposed to several different ag-related jobs that she is wondering if she might like even better. She knows that she can always be a farmer (like her dad), but she also knows that she could pursue some other ag related career that also seems interesting.
Caitlin is very smart and she has the ability to quickly see what technologies may be employed to increase the profitability of the farm at which she is interning. She is also receiving a great education in Best Management Practices at college and she is also a huge proponent of Precision Agriculture and something now being called the “Triple Bottom Line.” But even she admits that the money piece of the business is still something in which she needs to know more.

8. Problem 1 – Precision Agriculture
Caitlin keeps telling her immediate supervisor (Bob) about the advantages of Precision Agriculture (PA). He tells her back that Precision Ag is just the latest catch phrase for being a good farmer and businessman; that he’s been practicing Precision Ag his whole life. Caitlin wants to explain that PA it is much much more. Bob says he will give here 5 Minutes to explain how Precision Ag is different from what he has been doing his whole life and then that will be the end of discussion. Break into teams of 2 and prepare a 5 minute presentation on the differences between Precision Ag and traditional farming.

9. Problem 2 – College Course of Study
Here are some of the elective courses of study within Ag that are available to Caitlin in college. She has already signed up for all of the UAS Courses available because she loves the tech, but which ones should she also add to 1) help her dad, and 2) prepare her for a future where she has options in agriculture?
UAS uses in Agriculture
UAS in Ag Mission Planning
UAS in Ag Post Production
Best Management Practices 2
Organic Specializations within row crops
Specializations within Agriculture
Terrace Farming
More from your local Ag Univ course catalog

10. Problem 3 – Triple Bottom Line Agriculture
What is Triple Bottom Line agriculture and is it “just the latest thing” or is there some serious advantage to adopting it as a Best Management Practice?

11. Problem 4 – Land Grant Universities
Write a 3 paragraph (Intro, Body, Summary) on:
the history of land grant universities
the purpose for which they were created
Their role in the 21st century