Agustin Olivo Wins 2nd Place in ASA Environmental Quality Competition

Engaging high school student in assessments of agriculture environmental sustainability is needed for a more widespread understanding of sustainability and to promote the use of assessment tools. A curriculum about whole-farm nutrient mass balances (NMBs, assessment tool for nutrient use efficiency in farms) was designed for high school students and tested in agricultural education classrooms in New York. Topics in the lecture and laboratory sessions of the curriculum include an introduction to sustainable agriculture, assessment of environmental sustainability through NMBs, data collection at the farm level, use of the NMB software, and identification of opportunities for continuous improvement for the farm. Preliminary results from the pilot test show that teachers found the curriculum to be applicable to a wide range of courses in the 10th to 12th grade range. Teachers valued the opportunity to address multiple aspects of agricultural sustainability, math and science communication through the curriculum, using a teamwork approach in the classroom setting.