INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC AGRICULTURE: PRODUCTION, MARKETS, AND POLICY

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: ENVIR ST/AGROECOL/C&E SOC/ENTOM 103 (or AGRONOMY 103 prior to Fall 2025), AGRONOMY 100, HORT 120, PLANTSCI 110 , BOTANY/PL PATH 123 , SOC/C&E SOC 222 , or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness Breadth - Biological Science Level - Elementary L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe the history of current organic systems and how it influences the way that organic farms and industries work. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Explore the biological, ecological, and agricultural underpinnings of organic production systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Examine how organic systems, social initiatives, and regulations are developed and how they shape business activities, community development efforts, and human and environmental health outcomes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Evaluate the benefits and limitations of organic systems, social initiatives, and regulations from environmental, social, economic, and racial justice perspectives. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Analyze sustainability issues and/or practices using a systems-based approach. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Describe the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of organic farming and identify potential tradeoffs and interrelationships among these dimensions at a level appropriate to the course. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Develop the capacity to evaluate sustainability and resilience outcomes of organic and other agricultural production and processing systems using interdisciplinary methods. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Describe the history of current organic systems and how it influences the way that organic farms and industries work. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Explore the biological, ecological, and agricultural underpinnings of organic production systems. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Examine how organic systems, social initiatives, and regulations are developed and how they shape business activities, community development efforts, and human and environmental health outcomes. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Evaluate the benefits and limitations of organic systems, social initiatives, and regulations from environmental, social, economic, and racial justice perspectives. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Analyze sustainability issues and/or practices using a systems-based approach. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Describe the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of organic farming and identify potential tradeoffs and interrelationships among these dimensions at a level appropriate to the course. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Develop the capacity to evaluate sustainability and resilience outcomes of organic and other agricultural production and processing systems using interdisciplinary methods. Audience: Graduate