ALS 3133 section 9685 Fall 2014

Transcription

1 ALS 3133 section 9685 Fall 2014 I. Title: Agriculture and Environmental Quality M, W, F, Period 2, 8:30 9:20 AM, room 245 FLG II. Course Description: Analysis of the effects of agriculture on environmental quality, especially water quality, with emphasis on agricultural practices (fertilization, waste management, irrigation, pesticides, etc.), management of soil, treatment and utilization of organic wastes, and sustainable food production. III. Objective: To acquaint the students from agriculture as well as other disciplines with agricultural practices and their effects on environmental quality, and to show how agricultural scientists and farmers are attempting to minimize agricultural pollution and sustain food production adequate for the world's growing population. This course should be of significant value to those students who will be involved in the management of agricultural production and processing industries as well as to those with a special interest in agricultural pollution control and plan further study in this area. For everyone, I hope exposure to the issues, challenges, and solutions will be a useful learning process. Student Learning Objectives; students will be able to: Describe the important agricultural enterprises in Florida Discuss the important water quantity and quality issues in Florida Contrast point and nonpoint source pollution Describe the basics of water quality regulation in the U.S. and Florida Describe some best management practices for agricultural nutrient management Describe some best management practices for agricultural irrigation Discuss the issues with managing animal wastes Name some biofuels and describe where they come from Apply some basic math calculations pertaining to nutrient application IV. Format: Three lectures per week, no laboratory. Students will be expected to complete all homework, readings, and watch the videos. Students will be expected to participate in all discussions via Sakai. V. Instructor: Dr. George Hochmuth Office Hours: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Upon request Soil and Water Science Department G175A McCarty Hall ( ) hoch@ufl.edu VI. Textbooks: There is no text book for this course. Lecture outlines will be provided on the class web page on Sakai as PowerPoint handouts in pdf format. Students may wish to print the handouts and bring them to class for the appropriate lectures. Reading material for each of the lecture topics will be provided on the class web page. (If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download it at no cost at There will be several videos used to supplement and expand lecture material.

2 Expectation: That you will have read the materials and watched the videos prior to class and come prepared to discuss the material in class. VII. Important Dates: Exam 1: Friday, September 26, 2014 Exam 2: Friday, October 31, 2014 Final Exam: Friday, December 19, 2014 Exams: We will take exams though the Assessments Tool on Sakai. There will be a period of time on the exam date during which the exam will be available, typically starting at 6:00 AM and closing at 11:59 PM. You can take the exam any time during that period. Exams will be 1.5 hours long to provide generous time for completion of the exam. Please note that the latest you will want to start the exam would be about 10:00 PM. There will be no exam make-ups without a prior written, valid, documented excuse. No exceptions! You will receive a zero score for an unexcused, missed exam. VIII. Class Attendance: Required!!! Students are expected to attend all classes and are responsible for all material covered in class and the readings and videos. Attendance at all field trips is required. Attendance will be taken regularly during the semester. Attendance will count for 10% of your course grade. All students are responsible for picking up the attendance/lecture question paper slips each day AND returning them at the end of the class. We can t record your presence if we do not have your attendance slip. Attendance may be excused for illness with a valid, written (letterhead) doctors excuse. Other valid absences may be excused with a prior, documented, valid excuse. Scheduling and purchasing personal travel plans without consulting the course schedule or prior to the end of the course will not be excused. We discuss topics in class that may not be fully covered on the power points, so you will miss that information when you skip class. In fact, it will be difficult to get an A (and perhaps a B) in the class if you plan on missing class and studying only the posted lecture notes. Class participation: We hope you will participate in class. Participation includes answering questions in class and asking questions, and discussing topics with others. IX. Classroom Etiquette: It is important that you respect your instructor's and fellow students right to a respectful classroom atmosphere. Please do not hold conversations with classmates during lecture. Please do not shuffle papers and books in anticipation of the end of the class period. The instructor will end the lecture promptly on time and students are expected to remain attentive until the end of the class period. An atmosphere of mutual respect is in order. The instructor reserves the right to request that you leave the class if you engage in distractive behavior. All cell phones will be turned off during class and no headphones or ear plugs will be allowed. Notebooks and ipads will only be allowed for approved class note-taking or following the lecture pdfs. Students using cell phones during class may be asked to leave and will lose attendance points. X. Grading System: Grades will be based on 3 required exams, attendance, homework, and discussions. The third exam will be the final exam and will be comprehensive. The exams will count as 60% of your grade (20% each). Attendance will account for 10% of your grade. Discussions will be

3 15%. Homework is 15%. There will be three homework assignments. Students are expected to complete each assignment on time and up-load their completed assignment in MS WORD to the Sakai e- learning Assignments tab. Students are responsible for making sure they complete the submittal process as requested and turn in homework in their own words. Please check for details about grading in the first lecture PDF. The following grading scale will be used: A % B C D E <60 E-learning Sakai. We will use Gradebook 2 on Sakai. Please make sure you understand how it works. Gradebook 2 will accumulate points toward the total course 100 points. Any item, such as an exam not yet taken, will be shown as a zero. Please review Gradebook 2 frequently as we add your scores. Please let us know if there are questions. Make-up exams will be approved only due to illness or extreme family needs, or important excused activities required by another class. Make-up exams must be approved prior to the regularly scheduled exam, and must be made-up within two class periods. If you are unable to take the exam due to illness, contact the instructor of teaching assistant prior to the exam date to confirm your absence. Note that the final exam is scheduled for the last day of finals week, Friday, December 19, Please do not make personal plans that will interfere with the final exam date. This final requirement will be strictly enforced. Do not make travel plans that conflict with the final exam date. XI. Academic Honesty, Software Use, Services for Students with Disabilities, UF Counseling Services The University of Florida requires all members of its community to be honest in all endeavors. Cheating, plagiarism, and other acts diminish the process of learning. When students enroll at UF they commit themselves to honesty and integrity. Your instructor fully expects you to adhere to the academic honesty guidelines you signed when you were admitted to UF. As a result of completing the registration form at the University of Florida, every student has signed the following statement: I understand the University of Florida expects it students to be honest in all their academic work. I agree to adhere to this commitment to academic honesty and understand that my failure to comply with this commitment may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion from the University. Furthermore, on work submitted for credit by UF students, the following pledge is either required or implied: On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment. It is to be assumed all work will be completed independently unless the assignment is defined as

4 group project, in writing by the professor. Students must turn in their own homework in their own words. This policy will be vigorously upheld at all times in this course. XII. Software Use: All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. XIII. Campus Helping Resources Students experiencing crisis or personal problems that interfere with their general well being are encouraged to utilize the university s counseling resources. Both the Counseling Center and Student Mental Health provide confidential counseling services at no cost for currently enrolled students. Resources are available on campus for students having personal or lacking clear career and academic goals, which interfere with their academic performance. The Counseling Center is located at 301 Peabody Hall (next to Criser Hall). Student Mental Health is located on the second floor of the Student Health Services in the Infirmary. 1. University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, ; personal and career counseling: 2. Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, , personal counseling: 3. Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, , sexual assault counseling; and 4. Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, , career development Assistance and counseling. XIV. Students with Disabilities Act The Dean of Students Office coordinates the needed accommodations of students with disabilities. This includes the registration of disabilities, academic accommodations within the classroom, accessing special adaptive computer equipment, providing interpretation services, and mediating faulty-student disability related issues. Dean of Students Office, 202 Peabody Hall, ,

5 XV. Lecture topics ALS AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY LECTURE SCHEDULE Fall semester, 2014, Subject to change # Day Date Topic 1 M 8/25/2014 Introduction to course 2 W 8/27 Setting the stage, Agric. & the Environment 3 F 8/29 Agriculture in Florida M 9/1 Holiday, Labor Day 4 W 9/3 Nonpoint source pollution 5 F 9/5 Nonpoint source pollution, 6 M 9/8 Environmental regulations 7 W 9/10 Soils and relationship to environment 8 F 9/12 Soils and relationship to environment 9 M 9/15 Carbon, nitrogen & phosphorus cycles 10 W 9/17 Carbon, nitrogen & phosphorus cycles 11 F 9/19 Soil management, conservation 12 M 9/22 Irrigation management 13 W 9/24 Irrigation management 14 F 9/26 Exam 1 15 M 9/29 Nutrient management 16 W 10/1 Nutrient management 17 F 10/3 Best management practices 18 M 10/6 Best management practices 19 W 10/8 Organic wastes 20 F 10/10 Organic wastes 21 M 10/13 Municipal biosolids 22 W 10/15 Municipal biosolids F 10/17 Holiday, Homecoming 23 M 10/20 Reclaimed water 24 W 10/22 Reclaimed water 25 F 10/24 Field trip, campus waste water treatment facility 26 M 10/27 Field trip, campus waste water treatment facility 27 W 10/29 Livestock waste handling 28 F 10/31 Exam 2 29 M 11/3 Livestock waste handling 30 W 11/5 Livestock waste application calculations 31 F 11/7 Food processing wastes 32 M 11/10 Composting 33 W 11/12 Composting 34 F 11/14 Bio energy 35 M 11/17 Bio energy 36 W 11/19 Wetland ecosystems 37 F 11/21 Wetland ecosystems 38 M 11/24 Field trip, campus natural area (SEEP) W-F 11/26-28 Holiday, Thanksgiving 39 M 12/1 Pest management 40 W 12/3 Pest management

6 41 F 12/5 Organic farming 42 M 12/8 Organic farming 43 W 12/10 America Revealed Th, F 12/11-12 Reading days F 12/19 Exam 3 (Final Exam).