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

2. 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

3. 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.

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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. Fruit and Vegetables
Students should read pages 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)

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

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

11. 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.

12. 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)

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

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

17. 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…

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

19. Agricultural Organizations
Alabama Cattleman’s Association
USDA
ALFA
Alabama Farmers Federation
Alabama Poultry and Egg Association
Alabama Forestry Commission
Alabama Cooperative Extension System

20. 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

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

22. Resume’ Writing

23. Cover Letter

24. 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

25. 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.