Piedmont Farmacy in Bassett partners with Ferrum College on its ‘Field and Forage Crops’ course taught by associate professor of Crop Science Tim Durham. Students learn about agronomy, crop management, and concepts of field and forage cropping systems through different crop varieties and cultivation practices.
Because this course is offered at the tail end of the traditional field/forage crops season, it’s impossible to cultivate a corn or soybean crop from start to finish. Instead, the semester-long, hands-on capstone project is a fertilizer trial delivered more as an olericulture, or vegetable science class, using cabbage as the classic cool season crop.
Durham said Mark Prescott, proprietor of the Bassett farm, kindly lets the college use his farm, and this marks the third time a class plot has been established. Over the course of the semester, students visit the farm three times for planting, fertilizing and harvesting, and Prescott keeps any overplanted cabbage as an in-kind consideration for his generosity.
Durham said the project allows students to take full responsibility for the entire process from start to finish. “It covers a comprehensive exercise that includes varietal selection, spacing, weed management, irrigation, comparative input costs, pest management, fertilizer calculations, growing degree days, and estimated net receipts.”
“Students also learn about basic field plot design, flagging, and replication, culminating in a final harvest and data logging. They crunch the numbers and learn to interpret statistical analyses to determine which fertilizer rate (0 (white flag), 50 (blue), 100 (yellow), 200 (orange), and 400 (red) pounds of nitrogen per acre) makes the most financial sense from a cost/benefit perspective,” said Durham.
“It brings classroom theory and best practice ethics to field fruition. They present their findings via a digital poster session. Most importantly, they got to sample the fruits of their labor by taking home as much as they wanted at the semester’s end, as did the campus community – about 10 bushels were gone in one afternoon,” he added.
Ferrum College president Dr. Mirta Martin said the course is one of many examples of experiential learning that gives Ferrum Alumni an extra edge when they enter the workforce or graduate school. “Field and Forage Crops gives students the irreplaceable, hands-on learning that is the core of Ferrum College. They get the science as well as the art of the agricultural process. No matter where their career takes them, the practical expertise they gain in these courses will serve them well.”
