5 Years of Teaching Precision Agriculture at a

5 Years of Teaching Precision Agriculture at a California Community College West Hills Community College Farm of the Future

Overview West Hills College Ø Coalinga Ø Program Timeline Ø Course Descriptions Ø Future of Program Ø Difficulties Ø

Where is Coalinga?

Westside Farming Large Fields (>160 acre) Ø Large Farms (>5, 000 acre) Ø Expensive Water (>$150/acre-foot) Ø Ø Major Crops l l l l Cotton Almonds Pistachio Tomato Melons Winter Wheat Garlic

Before 2000 Animal Science Ø Rodeo Program Ø

2000 Hired Dr. Larry Rathbun Ø 5 Full-Time Instructors Ø 47 -Member Advisory Committee Ø l 723 Years Combined Agricultural Experience Focus on Technology Ø Suggested Precision Agriculture Curriculum Ø

Grants Ø Total = $608, 294 l l l Irrigation Technology – DWR - $99, 000 Precision Ag Outreach – CCCCO - $313, 901 Irrigation Technology – CCCCO - $99, 663 GPS Equipment – CCCCO - $29, 255 Firebaugh Technology Alliance – Com. Dev. Corp. - $50, 000 Special Populations Recruitment – CCCCO $16, 475

Equipment and Facilities Ø GPS field mapping and held computers Ø GPS guidance systems and base stations Ø 20 station GIS laboratory Ø Industry standard GPS/GIS software Ø Soil and water monitoring telemetry Ø Veris soil mapping technology Ø Variable rate controllers Ø 600 acre college farm

2001 Ø Hired Adjunct Faculty – Kurt Quade Ø Taught as 2 Year – 4 Semester Curriculum Ø Part of Traditional Crop Science Associate Program

2002 Ø Hired Me Ø Short Courses l l 3 -Day Introduction to Precision Agriculture 1 -Day HGIS/Aerial Imagery Ø Good Response – 300 Participants

2003 Ø Disharmony Ø Consulting Ø No Agriculture Classes

2004 -2005 Hired Me – Ag Science & Technology Ø 1 Full-Time Agriculture Instructor Ø Precision Agriculture only program Ø

2004 Curriculum 10 months = certificate Ø 24 months = Associate of Science Degree Ø Prepare for university transfer Ø

Program Curriculum Fall Semester Precision Agriculture Plant Science Computers in AG Mathematics Work Experience 15 units Spring Semester GPS Crop Monitoring Soils California Water Intro to GIS Work Experience 15 units

Precision Agriculture Ø Introduction l l l l Ø GPS GIS Imagery/Remote Sensing SSToolbox HGIS Variable Rate Technology Guidance Direct Sensing Projects Terminology Ø Hands-On Ø Hit-the-Ground. Running Ø Real-World Projects Ø Working with Industry Ø

Plant Science Introduction Ø Botany Ø CSU/UC Transferable Ø Farm Garden Ø Hands-On Ø Understand Plants Ø Agriculture Experience Ø Tractor Experience Ø

Computers in Agriculture Windows Ø Microsoft Office Ø l l l Word Excel Power. Point Computer Experience Ø Windows Very Important Ø Excel Very Important Ø

Mathematics Ø Basic Mathematics Need to do Simple Calculations Ø Acreage Ø Geometry Ø Important for Soils Ø

Work Experience Credit for Work Experience Ø Work On-Farm Ø Preferably Precision Agriculture Ø Hands-On Ø Work on their Own Ø

GPS Crop Monitoring Advanced Concepts Ø Consulting Ø Learning New Software Ø Learning New Hardware Ø Learn on Own Ø Real-World Situations Ø No Help in the Real. World Ø

Soils CSU/UC Transferable Ø Basic Soils Ø Soils Very Important in CA Ag Ø Hands-On Labs Ø

California Water Issues Ø Water Law Ø Irrigation Ø l l l Surface Sprinklers Micro Irrigation Water Very Important in CA Ag Ø Hands-On Labs Ø

Introduction to GIS Taught in Geography Dept Ø Arc. View Ø Ø GIS Very Important

2005 -2006 Changes Sales Incorporated Ø Recruiting! Ø

Difficulties Transfer vs. Certificate Ø Recruitment Ø l Ø Staying Current l Ø $ and Time Prerequisites l l l Ø More Jobs than Students Welding/Wiring Computer Agriculture Too Much Info to Learn in 1 Year