Fall is the harvest season, and from an outside perspective, work appears to be winding down on a farm. From the farmer’s point of view, there is so much to be done from analyzing crop sales and financial data, fall cover cropping, season extension activities, planning for the coming growing season, maintenance and repair of physical infrastructure and tools, and more. Farm planning, finances, and marketing are critical to maintain the campus farm’s operating budget and community base of support; students will be immersed in the iterative cycles of analyzing production and market data, setting sales goals and operating budgets, crop planning, seeding schedules, market stand sales, and nurturing customer relationships.
In this Fall Quarter program, students will learn how successful organic farms can be highly productive, ecologically resilient, financially stable, and serve community needs. This program takes place primarily on the campus organic farm. Students will develop quantitative, analytical and practical skills through experiential learning, centered in seasonal activities from land management, food production, scientific inquiry, planning, budgeting, and marketing. Quantitative topics in applied algebra will include ratios, unit conversions, linear and exponential modeling, and basic geometry. Topics in applied statistics will include survey design, data collection, descriptive analysis, and data visualization. These topics will come to life through the various applications to agricultural practices mentioned above.
Students will have opportunities to explore the scientific underpinnings of agroecology, soil science, cover cropping, and season extension on small-scale organic market farms. Production practices will be integrated with on-farm research. Design thinking and cooperative business organization will also be explored and practiced supporting collective student leadership development and the social impact of campus food production.
As a whole, this program is suited for students who can dedicate at least 20 hours per week to on-campus program work that is team oriented, physically rigorous, and academically demanding. Upper division science credit may be pursued with student-faculty agreement on additional work requirements (please contact the faculty directly at: Ben.Hunsdorfer@evergreen.edu and nivalam@evergreen.edu).
Students only interested in the farm/agriculture components (8 credits) or only the program's quantitative components should likewise contact the faculty directly.
This program is coordinated with Greener Foundations for first-year students. Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s in-person 2-quarter introductory student success course sequence, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. Students expected to take Greener Foundations should use CRN 10263 to register for a 2-credit Greener Foundations course and for 14 credits of this program.
First-year students who are not expected to take Greener Foundations or have been granted an exemption should use CRN 10046 to register for this program. Find more details about who isn't expected to take Greener Foundations on the Greener Foundations website.
Anticipated credit equivalencies:
4 - Applied Quantitative Reasoning
4 - Applied Statistics
4 - Foundations of Ecological Agriculture
4 - Organic Market Farming Practicum
(2 - Organic Market Farming Practicum for Greener Foundations students)
Registration
Course Reference Numbers
Academic Details
Agricultural Production and Management, Agroecology Research, Edible Landscaping, Community Food Systems, Food Marketing and Sales, Natural Resource Management, Soil Science, Permaculture Design
$156 required fee that covers tools, a field trip, and a required lab fee.
Schedule
Revisions
| Date | Revision |
|---|---|
| 2024-09-12 | Fees updated; $100 overnight field trip fee removed due to the fact that it is no longer happening. |
| 2024-06-20 | This program has had substantial changes, including an updated description with the addition of quantitative studies, and a change to make the program all levels (was So-Sr). |