Search Results
This project directly addresses national food safety “priority issues”. Project design incorporates food safety and food chain security as focal points of educational efforts, then initiates practical, producer-level research, teaching, and extension whereby food handling and safety issues are addressed in a systems context. The overall Project goals are (1) to deliver information about Fresh Produce Food Safety (“FPFS”) programs and principles defined in the FDA Guide to fresh fruit and vegetable handlers in the Southeastern United States, (2) to provide hands-on individual state assistance with FPFS program implementation, and (3) to determine the influence of packing line procedures on the survival of foodborne pathogens. Part of the education envisioned under the new grant is introducing the concepts of recall and traceback. These concepts, proposed for incorporation into a new Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) act being discussed for adoption, possibly in 2006, essentially allows for the traceback of food to its point of origin. Osborne and others published a new protocol last month as “Model Recall Program for the Fresh Produce Industry” and want to help growers stay ahead of the curve on these issues. As a consequence of this project, the region's commercial fresh fruit and vegetable handlers will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to establish effective GAPs programs. Developing new GAPs programs to fit the specific needs of the packing and chain store operations in the Southeastern United States can significantly reduce the possibility of illness originating from Southeastern fresh fruit and vegetables. Delivering such programs will serve as a valuable training tool for fresh produce industries nationwide.
Abstract
The occupations rilled by students receiving a BS degree in Horticulture are many and varied. Of particular interest is the changing nature of these occupations in recent years. At one time, production oriented curricula sufficed for the vast majority of horticulture students. Today’s occupations, however, require a student to have a broad background in such areas as business, management, economics, education, and sociology. It is not rare in today’s agricultural job market to find employers who may wish to hire a horticulturist, but may relegate his knowledge of horticulture to a position secondary to that of business knowledge, or some other specialty. The changing nature of employment from the predominantly production oriented jobs of some years ago has also resulted in pressures upon the academic world to constantly re-evaluate horticulture curricula and re-tailor it to a rapidly changing job market.
indigenous Indonesian plant species have potential for development into horticultural crops. However, many of these species remain understudied and thus underused. The development of new horticultural crops in Indonesia is attractive for several reasons: 1
The interest, use, and recognized benefits of gardens as educational tools for youth has increased in recent decades and has prompted the development of garden-based curricula for use in schools. Iowa State University Extension developed Growing in the Garden (GITG), a curriculum designed for use in kindergarten through third grade classrooms. This study examined the impact of the GITG curriculum on the awareness and interest of first graders in the areas of science, nutrition, and the environment. A survey was used to determine parental perceptions of their child's interest and awareness after experiencing three lessons from the GITG curriculum. Forty-seven parents (60.2% response rate) of first graders from four classrooms in Iowa completed the survey. A significant number of parents surveyed noted an increased awareness and interest of their children in the areas of science and the environment. Factors such as socio-economic status, ethnicity, and gender did not influence the outcomes.
Curriculum revision for science-oriented degrees can be based on input from research journals and discipline-oriented society meetings, but the professional nature of a landscape horticulture degree requires more detailed industry input. The curriculum revision at the Univ. of Delaware started with discussions amongst faculty who were concerned with the current plant science curriculum. A mail survey of alumni from 1984 to 1993 and employers of Univ. of Delaware Plant and Soil Sciences Dept. graduates was conducted in 1994. Survey results were evaluated and incorporated into the development of two curricula: plant biology and landscape horticulture. Focus groups were used to seek industry input for the landscape horticulture curriculum. Two focus groups—established professionals in the landscape horticulture industry and recent graduates from the Plant and Soil Sciences Dept. with landscape horticulture positions—were convened in December 1995. Focus group members received a packet of information about the department including the proposed curricula prior to the meeting. A group of faculty presented information about departmental facilities, faculty, academic opportunities and practical experiences and accomplishments. The previous survey results and proposed curricula were reviewed. A professional facilitator, using a moderator's guide prepared by faculty members, led each focus group discussion. Tapes from each discussion were transcribed and summarized. Original transcriptions and executive summaries were distributed to focus group participants and faculty. Suggestions from focus group participants were incorporated into the final curriculum. Problems associated with the focus group technique include a reluctance of faculty to accept outside opinions, a reluctance to publicly air departmental concerns, and the cost associated with a professional facilitator and rented facilities. However, the focus group technique provided significant feedback in a short period of time and helped build liaisons with industry constituents by including them in the process. Several focus group participants will be invited to join an advisory council for the department.
Development of a new children's horticulture curriculum, the Junior Master Gardener program, from Texas A&M Univ. has lead to several youth projects in Minnesota. In Chisago County, Minn., Master Gardeners have instructed 4-H leaders who taught weekly sessions to elementary age children. Older teens have been leaders in this project as well. In Hennepin County, Minn., the program has been used by teachers and Master Gardeners in a formal classroom setting. Additional programs in Anoka, Rice, Winona, and Washington Counties, Minn., have used this curriculum. Leaders say the strengths of the program are the extensive and detailed list of projects, the impact on the local community when children do the service component, and children's learning of the scientific concepts that are the basis of the program. Cost of the materials and distribution are negative features. Further program examples will be highlighted and detailed at this workshop.
Washington State Univ. Tri-Cities offers a new agricultural degree program titled Integrated Cropping Systems. It is intended to provide a basic education on the fundamentals of crop production and the environmental context in which crops are grown. Courses are offered at the upper division level to interface with the lower division courses offered at local community colleges. The curriculum is composed of courses in environmental science, ecology and conservation as well as crop growth and development, crop nutrition, plant pathology integrated pest management and others. Students need to meet the same requirements as those at other Washington State Univ. campuses in regards to the general education requirements. The purpose of the Integrated Cropping Systems program is to provide an educational opportunity for agricultural professionals and others in the region who are unable to commute or move to the main campus location. The curriculum provides the background needed for such occupations as grower/producer, crop scouting, sales representative and other entry level agricultural professions. It will supply credits toward certification through the American Registry of Certified Professional Agricultural Consultants (ARCPACS). Integrated Cropping Systems is a unique agricultural curriculum designed to help agriculturists integrate their production practices into the local ecosystem in a way that the environment does not incur damage. It emphasizes the use of environmentally conscience decisionmaking processes and sound resource ethics. The program will graduate individuals who have heightened awareness of the impact agricultural practices have on the ecosystem in which they are conducted.
In Spring 1999, the Environmental Horticulture Graduate Student Association (EHGSA) at the Univ. of Florida was given the opportunity to develop a professional development course, for credit, for graduate students. Members of the EHGSA determined that there was a need for seminars on topics such as curriculum vitae development, interview techniques, effective presentations, successful teaching, and many more topics pertinent to the graduate student as a future professional both inside and outside of academia. As a group, the EHGSA determined the seminar topics, found speakers to present the information and organized the course for the Fall 1999 semester. The rationale for creating this course, its development, topic selection, and student reviews will be presented.
A learning community was developed for first-year students majoring in horticulture at Iowa State Univ. in 1998. Learning communities are a curriculum design that schedules courses for both students and faculty to encourage community and connections among students, between students and faculty, and among faculty. Learning communities can offer students more opportunities for interactions among each other, academic assistance through supplemental instruction and/or group study sessions, and planned horticulture-related activities, all of which are important for success and retention of first-year students. First-year students in the horticulture learning community enrolled in the same courses and sections of five courses. The first-year English composition course was linked to the second-year principles of horticulture course that requires writing-across-the-curriculum activities. Faculty mentoring was provided through local field trips to horticultural sites of keen interest to the students. Academic environment survey results showed students rated their expectations highly for developing a network of other students as a resource group and for learning cooperatively in groups. Iowa State Univ. supports learning communities by providing faculty development and facilitating course registration, peer mentoring, supplemental instruction for challenging core courses, and academic and student services, to strengthen undergraduate teaching programs within and outside of the classroom.
Horticulture departments have been experiencing a decline of students studying pomology and the tree fruit industry suffers from a shortage of horticulturists. Wenatchee Valley College responded to the tree fruit industry's request to develop an undergraduate pomology program. The program has an industry advisory committee, is industry oriented and emphasizes the art and the science of deciduous tree fruit production. Industry and field-based instruction is a significant component of the curriculum. The fruit industry funded the development of two laboratory orchards totaling 53 acres. Industry satisfaction and student placement is high. Wenatchee Valley College's success motivated the industry to encourage the Washington State University Dept. of Horticulture and Wenatchee Valley College to join in an educational partnership. The Washington Tree Fruit Program was implemented in 1993. It is the state's first educational program cooperatively developed by two state institutions of higher education and boasts 55 degree-seeking students. The articulated curriculum has many innovations and represents a significant departure from traditional undergraduate pomology curricula.