As early-career Extension educators challenged by societal, structural, agricultural, and fiscal trends, we designed a multiyear educational program to support the diverse needs of emerging specialty crop producers in northwest Michigan. This article presents outcomes of that program. We explore how Extension professionals can develop impactful…

Extension personnel, agricultural companies, and contract researchers invest a great deal of resources through time, money, and manpower to educate crop consultants, producers, students, and new employees. Creating an in-field, real world, and hands-on learning environment affords an opportunity to engage individuals to learn in ways that cannot…

This document is a curriculum unit in agricultural structures designed to expand the curriculum materials available in vocational agriculture in Missouri. The guide consists of three units on constructing farm buildings, planning farm water systems, and building fences. Each unit contains 10-15 lessons on various aspects of the unit's topic. Each…

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit on breeding livestock contains materials for use in teaching the importance of breeding, the physiology of livestock breeding, reproductive processes, sire selection, and breeding systems. Lessons on each of these competencies contain the following:…

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit on feeding livestock contains nine lessons based upon competencies needed to be a livestock producer. The lessons in this unit cover the importance of good feeding practices, the identification of nutritional needs and the composition of feeds for…

Intended to provide about 10 hours of instruction to first-year vocational agriculture students, this instructional unit introduces students to the horticulture industry, provides a broad background of horticultural practices, and covers many skills that can be directly applied by students in their projects. Topics of the individual sections of…

These lesson plans for teaching soybean production in a secondary or postsecondary vocational agriculture class are organized in nine units and cover the following topics: raising soybeans, optimum tillage, fertilizer and lime, seed selection, pest management, planting, troubleshooting, double cropping, and harvesting. Each lesson plan contains…

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit on livestock judging contains materials based on five competencies needed to be a livestock producer. The following competencies are covered: general preparation for livestock judging, selection, and evaluation; judging, selection, and evaluation of…

This curriculum guide in agricultural equipment and mechanics is one of 10 guides developed as part of a vocational project stressing agribusiness, natural resources, and environmental protection. The scope of this guide includes two occupational subgroups: agricultural power service and repair, and the service of agricultural equipment. It is…

This training manual, the last volume in a four-volume series for use in training Peace Corps workers, deals with livestock. The first chapter provides suggested guidelines for setting up and carrying out the livestock component of the agricultural development worker training course. Included in the second chapter are lesson plans covering the…

This set of lesson plans is designed for use in teaching vocational agriculture students the correct procedures for operating and maintaining a grain drill. The lesson plan package consists of the following components: (1) a teaching outline that is designed to teach students to understand, operate, lubricate, calibrate, troubleshoot, and store a…

This document is a teacher's guide for a unit in the college animal science curriculum. It is intended to be used for 20 hours of instruction for freshmen as an introduction to animal science. It explores the livestock industry and builds a foundation for livestock selection. The unit's objectives are to help the student develop an understanding…

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit on dairy housing and equipment contains four lessons based upon competencies needed to be a dairy farmer. The lessons in this unit cover the maintenance of milking systems, the provision of adequate and economical housing for dairy animals, and the…

This curriculum guide in agricultural products (food processing) is one of 10 guides developed as part of a vocational project stressing agribusiness, natural resources, and environmental protection. The scope of this guide includes three occupational subgroups: meat, fish, poultry; dairy (milk) products; fruits and vegetables. It is meant as an…

Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit contains nine lessons based upon competencies needed to maximize profits in corn production. The lessons cover opportunities for growing corn; seed selection; seedbed preparation; planting methods and practices; fertilizer rates and application;…