AG 200 - Agricultural Advocacy

3 Credits

This course is designed to give the students the resources to advocate for the agriculture industry and its sustainability. This course will provide the students with tools to act as advocates in addition to supporting producers in advocating and communicating about agriculture with the public and policy makers. This course will look at current issues facing the relationships between consumers, the public, policy makers and their communities. Emphasis will be placed on the students taking the tools they have learned and applying them through in class debates, utilizing resources available through industry and volunteering with community agricultural education programs.

Rationale:

This course is required for second year students in the Agricultural Sustainability program and the Agribusiness Agrifood & Tourism Concentration. This course is important to help students grasp the complex relationships between the agriculture industry and the public.

Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None

Course Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion students will be able to:

1. Describe the concept of Ag-vocacy and why it is important.
2. Demonstrate empathetic and respectful communication that builds trust through consumer messaging and the fostering of community.
3. Investigate examples of mistrust between society and the agricultural industry.
4. Examine risk management in relation to Ag-vocacy.
5. Apply critical thinking to evaluate industry sources and utilize the content to amplify positive messaging about agriculture.

This course involves approximately 42 hours of lecture. This course is taught using a variety of guest lectures, in class discussions and project work.

Classroom and laboratory attendance is considered vital to the learning process and as significant to the students’ evaluation as examinations and reports.

1. Students having a combination of excused and/or unexcused absence of 20 percent or higher for the scheduled course hours are required to withdraw and automatically receive a “RW” (required withdrawal) for the course, regardless of any other evaluation results. (RW is a failing grade.)
2. An excused absence is one that is verified with your instructor. Verification should be prior to the absence or the next class day following the absence. Verification of the absence may take the form of a note from your doctor/College nurse regarding illness, or a note from another instructor regarding a field trip or other activity, or authorization by your instructor. An unexcused absence is anything NOT verified by the instructor prior to the absence or the next class day following the absence.

It is the students’ responsibility to know their own absentee record.

Normal hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., with potential for evening courses, exams or extended field trips. Students are expected to be available for classes during these times.

Content of Course:
 

1. What is Ag-vocacy?
   1. Global agriculture
   2. Societies disconnection from agriculture
   3. Ag-vocacy as a concept
2. Understanding and Developing Trust
   1. Calm safe brains for openness and learning
   2. Social emotional intelligence
3. Communication
   1. Methods and modes of communication
   2. Who is your audience?
4. Exploring Misinformation /Mistrust
   1. Historical examples
   2. Current examples
5. Risk Management
   1. Types of risks (e.g., biosecurity, safety, protesters, etc.)
   2. Cost benefit analysis
6. Evaluating and Utilizing Source Material
   1. Existing resources
   2. Critical analysis
   3. Utilization in a public setting

The final grade is an aggregate of the following components:

• Letter	F	D	D+	C-	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A	A+
  Percent Range	0-49	50-52	53-56	57-59	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85-89	90-94	95-100
  Points	0.00	1.00	1.30	1.70	2.00	2.30	2.70	3.00	3.30	3.70	4.00	4.00

• Course Pass Requirements

  A minimum grade of D (50%) (1.00) is required to pass this course.

  Students must maintain a cumulative grade of C (GPA - Grade Point Average of 2.00) in order to qualify to graduate.