Land Resources & Environmental Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/11
The Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State Universityoffers integrative, multi-disciplinary, science-based degree programs at the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. levels.
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Precision Agroecology(MDPI AG, 2021-12) Duff, Hannah; Hegedus, Paul B.; Loewen, Sasha; Bass, Thomas; Maxwell, Bruce D.In response to global calls for sustainable food production, we identify two diverging paradigms to address the future of agriculture. We explore the possibility of uniting these two seemingly diverging paradigms of production-oriented and ecologically oriented agriculture in the form of precision agroecology. Merging precision agriculture technology and agroecological principles offers a unique array of solutions driven by data collection, experimentation, and decision support tools. We show how the synthesis of precision technology and agroecological principles results in a new agriculture that can be transformative by (1) reducing inputs with optimized prescriptions, (2) substituting sustainable inputs by using site-specific variable rate technology, (3) incorporating beneficial biodiversity into agroecosystems with precision conservation technology, (4) reconnecting producers and consumers through value-based food chains, and (5) building a just and equitable global food system informed by data-driven food policy. As a result, precision agroecology provides a unique opportunity to synthesize traditional knowledge and novel technology to transform food systems. In doing so, precision agroecology can offer solutions to agriculture’s biggest challenges in achieving sustainability in a major state of global change.Item New Curricula for Undergraduate Food-Systems Education: A Sustainable Agriculture Education Perspective(2014-12) Jordan, Nicolas; Grossman, J.; Lawrence, Patrick G.; Harmon, Alison H.; Dyer, William E.; Maxwell, Bruce D.; Cadieux, K.V.; Galt, Ryan; Rojas, A.; Byker Shanks, Carmen; Ahmed, Selena; Bass, Thomas; Kebreab, E.; Singh, V.; Michaels, T.; Tzenis, C.New undergraduate degree programs that address food systems have appeared at a number of North American universities in the past decade. These programs seek to complement established food- and agriculture-related courses of instruction with additional curricular elements that build students’ capacity to address complex food-systems issues (e.g., food sustainability, security, quality, equity and justice) in the course of their work in food-related professions. Here, we examine these emerging food-systems curricula, building on our collective experiences developing food-systems degree programs at University of British Columbia, Montana State University, University of California-Davis and the University of Minnesota. We present the conceptual framework that underlies our efforts, based on the premise that our degree programs should help students build “systemic” capacities that complement disciplinary training provided by various specialization “tracks.” Thus, we intend for our graduates to have a dual preparation, in both a particular specialization, and in overarching systemic capacities that enhance their ability to address complex food-system issues. We assess our current curricula in light of our framework, and outline high-priority pathways for further development of these curricula.