2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Organic agriculture course offerings continue to become more common at colleges and universities in the United States, and often reflect instructor expertise or regional issues of concern. The goal of this project was to develop multi-regional organic agriculture undergraduate curriculum at the introductory level for diverse student audiences. We interviewed 19 faculty members that teach on the topic of organic agriculture to identify the most important concepts and skills students should grasp. Respondents varied across position type, department, institution type (including land-grant and non-land grant), and years of experience teaching on the topic of organic agriculture. Based on their responses, we developed a working framework adapted from the Next Generation Science Standards. Within this framework, we created teaching modules for the following critical and needed topics: certification, organic history, and social dimensions. These modules include lesson plans, supplementary materials, and resource lists. We also have additional lesson plans for organic seed, organic pest management, and marketing. Original short films based on interviews with six certified organic farmers and ranchers are used throughout the modules and are available at bit.ly/orgproducer. Three of the interviewed farmers are focused on vegetables, fruit, and/or flower production. Module testing consisted of use of all resources in a single class at the University of Wyoming, and sharing individual modules with participating faculty from other institutions to seek feedback. All modules are available at the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association website, in their teaching resources library. Project made possible with funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative #1007232.