This study examines farming practices across regions as "funds of knowledge" that may be integrated into K-12 curricula and instruction. "Funds of knowledge," as conceptualized by Moll, Amanti, Neff, and González (1992), include the knowledge students bring from their families and home communities to the classroom, and serve as…

Purpose: To describe the results of showing farmer learning videos through different types of volunteers. Design/Methodology/Approach: Semi-structured interviews with volunteers from different occupational groups in Bangladesh, and a phone survey with 227 respondents. Findings: Each occupational group acted differently. Shop keepers, tillage…

Treadle pump (TP) technology has been promoted by Enterprise Works in West Africa as an alternative to the traditional rope and bucket irrigation. The aim is to improve output and incomes and reduce poverty among farm households. This paper reports a short term (two years) assessment of the dynamics of its adoption and impacts, with a special…

Iraq, formerly known as Mesopotamia, is the birthplace of agriculture. The recent war and instability have significantly impacted the country's agricultural production and knowledge support systems. To support revitalization of the Iraqi agricultural system, the USDA funded a consortium of five U.S. universities (Washington State University,…

The materials in this document are an extension of a catalog of duties, tasks, and performance objectives relevant to occupation of farm equipment operator. The duties are performing routine administrative functions, performing scheduled farm machinery maintenance, performing nonscheduled farm machinery maintenance, and performing field…

INCREASED MECHANIZATION, MORE EXTENSIVE USE OF CHEMICALS, AND OTHER TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS HAVE REDUCED FARM-LABOR NEEDS AND INCREASED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. COTTON, SUGAR BEETS, POTATOES, AND VEGETABLES FOR PROCESSING ARE SOME OF THE CROPS REQUIRING FEWER MAN-HOURS DUE TO NEW OR IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY. CONTINUOUS EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO DESIGN…

This document discusses methods of calibration for chemical sprayers to insure proper control of the target plant or insect. Both granular and spray application techniques are presented with special emphasis given to computing chemical mixes properly. (CS)

MECHANIZATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY DECREASE THE NUMBER OF SEASONAL FARM WORKERS NEEDED. SOME INNOVATIONS MERELY CHANGE THE JOB TO ONE THAT IS LESS UNPLEASANT, AND WORKERS FORMERLY DISINCLINED TO DO THE JOB BECOME AVAILABLE. MECHANIZATION MAY MAKE AN OPERATION SO EFFICIENT THAT ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION ARE INCREASED, AND MORE WORKERS ARE NEEDED. MUCH…

A brief introductory section contains the rationale for the course, the curriculum framework, a curriculum paradigm which indicates the approximate time ranges for each section, and notes on use of the guide. The guide itself is divided into units and subunits covering the following areas: Orientation to Pulpwood Harvesting; Tree Identification;…

This group of three articles discusses changes in the following three areas: agriculture (machinery, in-home computers, agricultural research, soil and water conservation, new crops), the office (word processing, personal computers, electronic mail, computer assisted retrieval, teleconferencing), and marketing (electronic catalogs, electronic…

This annual report includes major time series that reflect changes in farm production, production inputs, and production efficiency. Time series data are presented for the United States and, in most cases, for 10 farm production regions. The text highlights changes since the previous year or specified time period. In previous reports in this…

Describes projects of the Whitney, Texas, vocational agriculture students, exhibited at the Future Farmers of America Farm Mechanics Project Show (at the Heart o' Texas Fair in Waco) in several categories for livestock equipment, farm machinery, farm and yard conveniences, farm electrical projects, gates, and woodwork. (MF)

For farmers with high debt/asset ratios, leasing is an attractive option for securing the use of farm machinery. Under the current tax laws, financial leasing carries lower after-tax costs than loan purchasing. By size, farms with more than $500,000 in sales had the highest proportion of U.S. expenditures for farm equipment leasing. By region, the…