Life Sciences Commons^™

Plastic In Agricultural Soils And Its Biological Impacts, Olivia Mckay

Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Management Projects

Agricultural plastic mulch reduces weeds, yields higher crop quality and quantity, and increases soil temperature, but it can also become a soil pollutant. The impact of agricultural plastic contamination on soil microbial activity remains poorly documented. To better understand how plastic pollution influences soil microbial decomposers, we sampled three farms in Watsonville, CA. Each site is characterized by large amounts of plastic contamination in the form of polyethylene mulch and polyvinyl chloride dripline. The fields contain marked amounts of macro- (and presumably micro-) plastic fragments primarily derived from PVC dripline and polyethylene mulch. We haphazardly collected 6" deep soil samples …

Becoming Agricultured: Creating An Agriculture Literacy Podcast For Consumers, Madalyn C. Souza

Agricultural Education and Communication

Today’s consumers want to become more aware of where their food comes from. There is a need and a desire to bridge the gap between consumers and production agriculture. One way to reach consumers is through audio podcasts. Podcasts are digital audio recordings that are streamed online. The podcast Becoming Agricultured will be a platform to show the relationship between agriculture and the environment, food, fiber and energy, animals, lifestyle, the economy and technology. The podcast is aimed to tell agriculture's story through factual research and personal accounts of those involved in different sectors of the agriculture industry and cultivate …

Increasing Groundwater Recharge Activity In The San Joaquin Valley Of California, Jacob Willhite, Jacob Willhite

Agricultural Education and Communication

Over the past several decades, groundwater has become a primary source of water used for agriculture in California. Surface water available for agricultural use has depleted due to declining rain totals and reallocation to environmental purposes. As a result, groundwater overdraft has become a severe challenge, especially in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This excessive overdraft causes a plethora of issues, one of the most serious being land subsidence (Faunt, Sneed, Traum, & Brandt, 2016). Studies suggest some areas of the San Joaquin Valley have experienced more than a 28-foot drop in the land level since the 1970’s (Alley …

Creating A Livestock Show From The Beginning For The Benefit Of Youth In The Agriculture Industry And Continuing The Tradition Of Showing, Chloé Fowler, Matthew Durian

Agricultural Education and Communication

Youth throughout the country have been shown to benefit through organizations focused on leadership and real-world tangible skills. Organizations such as the National FFA Organization and 4-H Youth Development are key organizations for this growth. Livestock shows are another layer to these organizations and youth development. “Livestock shows provide interactions through different environments that expose participants to different cultures,” (Davis, 1998).

For these reasons it is important to provide more opportunities to the next generation of agriculture. There are currently 28 different livestock jackpots within the state of California throughout one year, (CJLA, 2020). Due to the large geographic landscape …

Compact Farms: A Step Towards Sustainability, Chad A. Porter

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This project report accounts for the potential benefits compact farms can have for agriculture and sustainability. The report details the design, implementation, and management of Whistle Stop Farm, a 1-acre, diverse farm producing vegetables, fruits, and gourmet mushrooms for direct markets in Atascadero, California. The farm focuses on economic and environmental sustainability. A large part of the farm revolves around soil science and how to manage soils to promote a healthy soil ecosystem.

Consumer Choice Within Fresh Produce, Victoria C. Ross

Agricultural Education and Communication

This project set out to question whether fresh produce required more specific labeling of pesticides and fertilizer inputs on fresh produce. Like many questions regarding health, environmental science, agriculture, and politics, there is not one simple answer. After listening to professionals and interviewing customers outside grocery stores, it's clear that the majority of consumers are not pursuing additional information, but that there is a small group of customers who would appreciate it. It also became clear that although fear mentality is of concern to professionals in the food industry, consumers don’t seem to understand the negative effects their participation in …

Shasta County Agriculture Activity Book Project, Kylan Morris, Amy Brown

Agricultural Education and Communication

With the development of an agricultural activity book for the kindergarten level, the authors have selected the top commodities produced in Shasta County and have directly applied them to Next Generation Science Standards. The reasoning behind creating a parallel between science lessons and a students’ immediate environment is to allow teachers to utilize their allotted time for teaching for state-mandated subjects while appointing agricultural topics as a vehicle for understanding these lessons.

Agricultural Sciences Outreach Program, Maghan Lea England, Sophie Lorraine Johnston

Agricultural Education and Communication

The College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) mission statement and vision of the Agricultural Education and Communication Department is to develop future leaders, educators, and communicators to advance and advocate for the agricultural industry in a global economy (AGED, 2018). Student organizations, such as Agriculture Ambassadors and Agriculture Leadership Society, facilitate several outreach events to engage and excite prospective students in pursuing their higher education goals in agriculture at Cal Poly (CAFES Ag Council, 2018). In order to maintain growing student numbers, the Agricultural Education and Communication Department, specifically, the Agricultural Science major needs revamped recruiting efforts and …

Hosting The Third Annual Young Women In Agriculture Career And Leadership Seminar, Emma E. Morris, Madyline J. Braught

Agricultural Education and Communication

Agriculture has traditionally been a male-dominated industry; however, recent years have shown a significant growth in female presence. Women are beginning to take leadership roles both on the farm and within advocacy, lobbying, and business entities in the industry. According to the latest agricultural census data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2012, women farmers controlled seven percent of the nation’s farmland (Census, 2014). Additionally, women held leadership roles in 14 percent of the nation’s two million farms (Census, 2014). This data is several years old, and likely the numbers have grown since the last census was …

Cal Poly Farmers Picnic, Emily Anne Dale, Riley Nilsen, Jack Gavron

Agricultural Education and Communication

Agriculture can be seen as the world’s most essential industry. Many products people use daily come directly from agriculture, including the food placed on people’s tables. Knowing where that food comes from, and the overall importance of agricultural education is vital in the United States and the world. This message needs to be shared beyond the classroom: we need agriculture to survive.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “in 2012, there were 3.2 million farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers and an estimated 757,900 agricultural workers legally employed in the U.S.” (USDA, 2012). These findings concluded that less …

Safety Videos For Major Shop Equipment In Cal Poly Brae Lab 1, Trey Joseph Johnston

Agricultural Education and Communication

At California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, students from all majors can take a variety of classes in the BioResource and Agriculture Engineering Department (BRAE). It is essential for future high school mechanics educators to learn the basic shop tools and the importance of safety in the laboratory. In shop 1 of the BRAE Department, there are many different tools students will find in a mechanics classroom. The five main power tools are the Table Saw, Drill Press, Bench Grinder, Radial Arm Saw, and Disk/Belt Sander.

In BRAE 121 Agricultural Mechanics, students learn basic shop skills about lab safety …

Working Bodies: A Photo Essay On Tulare County Citrus Workers, Isamar Hernandez-Ramos

Agricultural Education and Communication

Many a times, when people think about their food, they think about origins. Where did it come from? Was it hygienic? Were the animals treated humanely? They seldom include the workers in their thought process, though the workers of the Ag industry provide what is arguably a vital part of the Ag industry. They do back-breaking labor in often lethal conditions for little pay (NFWM). The families of these workers often suffer economically, physically, and emotionally. In Tulare County, one of the top Agricultural counties in the country, the agricultural worker is often below the poverty line (Taylor, 2015). They …

Cost Of Feed Per Pound Of Gain In Cal Poly's Dairy Calves, Kayle Anna Phelan

Agricultural Education and Communication

California is ranked one of the top five states in the United States for dairy production. It produces approximately 40 billion pounds of milk per year for US production. California’s dairy industry is not only the largest milk producer in the nation, but it is also the most financially prominent in the agricultural industry. This industry lead is purely because of its careful management practices. The way calves are raised depend on the resources used, the natural environment present, and the operation of the dairy farm. Essentially, there are numerous ways to care for a cow and calf. However, the …

Assessing Soft Skills At The Cal Poly State Agriculture Ambassador Conference, Mary Luann Allen

Agricultural Education and Communication

In today’s society, there is a disconnect with the agriculture industry, agriculture schools, and the public. Students need to acquire soft skills to aid in furthering the agriculture industry through their careers. Overall, hiring managers found soft skills such as communication, leadership, ownership, and teamwork were missing in this new crop of workers (Payscale/Future Workplace, 2016).

College Agriculture Ambassadors advocate for agriculture, higher education, and their respective schools all across the United States. The Cal Poly Agriculture Ambassadors club provides leadership, communication, and personal development to its members through meetings, activities and responsibilities.

The Cal Poly Agriculture Ambassador club hosted …

Developing Visual Aids For Ffa Promotion In The Classroom, Audrey Y. Lent

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project is to create visual materials for a classroom that the teacher can use as a supplement for information taught about FFA activities and programs shared with students.

The FFA advisor whose chapter would be the beneficiary of the project was consulted to discuss the best subject material for the posters. One poster was created for Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects, one for Career and Leadership Development Events (CDEs and LDEs), one for the California FFA State Conference, and one for career opportunities in the agricultural industry. These four posters were developed using an online program …

Program Plan Highland High School Agriculture Department, Michael Lee Leishman

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This is a complete accounting of the efforts that are put forth into educating America's youth in the eastern part of Bakersfield California. This outlines the leadership training, community involvement, personal growth, premier leadership and the career success that follows such an AWESOME high school program. Here you will see the efforts of the students and community combine, under the guidance and direction of 3 excellent advisors, to create a program that creates productive well informed citizens that are ready to take the mantle of servant leadership and make their world the best it can be.

Testing Predictions Used To Build An Agrivoltaics Installation On A Small-Scale Educational Model, Katie Kinney, Rebecca Minor, Greg Barron-Gafford

STAR Program Research Presentations

Models are valuable tools for explaining and testing systems. Small-scale models can be especially useful for educational purposes. For models to be useful, they have to accurately depict the larger system that they are describing. A novel man-made system, known as an agrivoltaic structure, is being constructed at Biosphere 2 near Oracle, Arizona. The word agrivoltaic is a combination of agriculture and photovoltaics, or solar farming. My research involved creating a small-scale version of this system for educational purposes. The model of this system tested two predictions: that plants will grow better in the shade of a panel and that …

Designing A Natural Resource Workshop For Students: Working With Wood: Adventures In Forestry, Maddison Easley

Agricultural Education and Communication

There is a need for additional education focused on natural resource related careers and issues. As communities become further removed from these subjects, hands-on workshops and educational trainings are necessary to rekindle interest in these topics, especially in regards to application in fields like agriculture. The goal of this project was to create a logical outline to follow when designing and implementing natural resource workshops. An additional outcome of the project involved the implementation of a forestry workshop through the 26 Hours of Science and Technology program at California Polytechnic State University on March 11, 2015. The outline provided in …

Ag In Motion, Kerri Bermudez, Annelise Jensch, Michaela Stone

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to gauge the interest levels of Ag in Motion for the Central Coast. Positive feedback would allow the project to continue on after this project is finished. Ag in Motion is an important asset to middle school aged children because they have the opportunity to learn about agriculture and it’s value. This is especially important considering California is number one producer of agricultural commodities in the United States.

The Central Coast is defined as these three counties: Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County. An online survey was developed and sent …

Development Of A Public Education Website: Building Bridges Over Water, Angelina Mckee

Agricultural Education and Communication

Website created by Angelina McKee to educate the public about water resource issues. Water is the basic unit of life, water resources are the basis for what societies and ecosystems are founded upon. Water shortages and droughts are more prevalent in our ever-changing world. It is no shock that there are discrepancies between various stockholders on either sides of the dry riverbed. This senior project resulted in the development of a website that addresses global water resources, water use in California, water conservation, and water allocation. The website informs the public on water resources and related issues and will hopefully …

Biodiversity: A Guide To Agricultural Wildlife, Rebecca Ozeran, Elaina Cromer

Animal Science

We have compiled a list of the birds and mammals that we documented at selected locations on campus. Through this document we aim to offer an easily accessible resource that students, faculty, and visitors can utilize to not just satisfy their curiosity but also spark further contemplation. For each species and for each location, we have also summarized the possible implications of our observations from a holistic perspective. The purpose of this is to get people to think about the way land is managed and what may indicate that it is being mismanaged or that the certain aspects of current …

Pesticide Regulation Differences Of The U.S., Chile, And Mexico On Imported Berries, Kayla Felicia Gardener

Agribusiness

Growing consumer demand for knowledge in the area of food safety and producer accountability on what is applied to fresh produce is resulting in a greater need for transparency in the industry. Additionally, the demand for safe, fresh produce year round has led to extensive international trade and consumers to wonder if imported produce is of the same quality of that in produced in the U.S. The study analyzes the differences and similarities between pesticide application tolerance standards, and labels for applied use on berries produced in the U.S., Mexico, and Chile. This is done by reviewing tolerance information and …

Graduate Internship Report- Selma High School, Jalisca Jean Thomason

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This internship report addresses the quality criteria of an agricultural education program and includes the supporting documents to meet the requirements of the California Department of Education specific to Selma High School. This document and the supporting evidence is intended to meet the requirements to obtain maximum funding for the Ag Incentive Grant.

Seasonal Food Habits Of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) In Human-Altered Landscapes, Carie Marie Wingert

Master's Theses

In 2004, I initiated a year-long study to investigate the food habits of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). Burrowing owls have been found in a variety of human-altered landscapes; however, little is known about burrowing owl food habits in urban landscapes. Burrowing owl food habits during the non-breeding season are also largely undocumented, despite increasing concern over the survival of overwintering burrowing owls. Differences in prey consumption between reproductive and non-reproductive owls during the breeding season have not yet been examined. I collected pellets over a 12 month period at four study sites affected by different levels of human …

Turning A Small Residential Farm Into A Non-Profit Educational Organization, Thomas John Anderson

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine whether Felicity’s Farm could become a non-profit organization for education. In order to determine the feasibility of turning Felicity’s Farm into a non-profit organization, interviews were conducted and financial statements were collected. In addition, a Certificate of Incorporation was completed based on the interview and financial data. It was concluded that Felicity’s Farm could become a non-profit organization; however, better organization of finances, fund-raising and the use of volunteers was recommended.