I. General Information
1. Course Title:
NRCS Pasture/Cropland
2. Course Prefix & Number:
NATR 1162
3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:
Credits: 1
Lecture Hours: 0.5
Lab Hours: 1
4. Course Description:
This course will survey and review selected Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) practices involving pasture and cropland management. Topics will include prescribed grazing/silvo-pasture/prescribed fire, conservation crop rotation, nutrient and waste management, water management and irrigation, and fencing and structures. The content will be organized as four field days with visits to sites where these practices have been established. There will be an overview of the site and a review of applicable natural resource principles and skills. The visit will be followed with discussion of natural resources concerns onsite and how they were mitigated using NRCS practices.
5. Placement Tests Required:
| Accuplacer (specify test): |
No placement tests required |
Score: |
|
6. Prerequisite Courses:
NATR 1162 - NRCS Pasture/Cropland
There are no prerequisites for this course.
9. Co-requisite Courses:
NATR 1162 - NRCS Pasture/Cropland
There are no corequisites for this course.
II. Transfer and Articulation
1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:
2. Transfer - regional institutions with which this course has a written articulation agreement:
III. Course Purpose
1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course is required for the following program(s):
This course, along with two others (Farmstead and Forestry both part of the NRCS Grant), will make up the required courses for the NRCS Certificate in the Natural Resources Program.
IV. Learning Outcomes
1. College-Wide Outcomes
| College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies |
Students will be able to: |
| Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills |
Discuss natural resources concerns, operations constraints, landowner objectives, and applied mitigation with the landowner to gain their perspective regarding land use and applied conservation practices. Students will be able to describe the opportunities and constraints different landowners are faced with when implementing conservation practices on their lands. |
| Analyze and follow a sequence of operations |
Follow a NRCS decision-making process to match natural resource concerns with mitigation practices. The decision-making process includes: - What resource concerns are represented – which of these concerns were addressed – what NRCS practices were applied – how was the concern and practice addressed. |
| Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations |
Describe natural resources concerns that exist on working lands and identify which NRCS conservation practices should be applied, describing how the practices mitigates the concern. |
2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of
the course:
- Describe natural resources concerns in pasture and cropland settings and describe how NRCS practices are able to mitigate these concerns;
- List natural resources concerns in pasture and cropland settings and describe how different NRCS practices meet or mitigate the concerns; and
- Describe how different NRCS practices are assessed to determine their effectiveness in treating or mitigating natural resources concerns association with pastures or croplands.
V. Topical Outline
Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.
1. Lecture Sessions
Lectures will consist of a one-hour pre-trip and a one-hour post-trip component to accompany each field-based lab experience.
Pre-trip lecture (one hour)
- Outline the upcoming field experience, the setting, and the resource management history of the site
- Review applicable principles and knowledge previously acquired through Natura Resources Courses
Post-trip Lecture (one hour)
- Follow the NRCS review process to evaluate the conservation practice(s) in place at the site:
- What resource concerns were prepresented?
- Which of these concerns were addressed?
- What NRCS practices were applied?
- How was the concern and practice assessed?
- Discuss take-away points involving the producer/owner’s perspective
2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions
Four field-based lab experiences will address the following natural resources practices and the concerns they address:
Lab 1. Grazing, silvo-pasture, and prescribed fire
Lab 2. Conservation crop rotation
Lab 3. Nutrient and waste management, water management, and irrigation
Lab 4. Fencing and structures
Field-based experiences will include walking a selected site and reviewing concerns and practices when talking with the producer/landowner about their concerns, incentives, and outcomes. Each lab experience will last approximately four hours.