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The Nature of:
Explain how the science of
agriculture helped develop
civilization;
o Identify and define the various areas
of science and agriscience; and
o Discuss advancements made
through agriscience.
o

What was the first science?
› Agriculture!
› Science is knowledge obtained through a
systematic study of naturally occurring
phenomena
 The first systematic study by humans was
obtaining food, shelter, and clothing

How has the science of agriculture
helped develop society?
› Time was a large factor in developing
society

How was food obtained in the
beginning of human history?
› Hunter/Gatherer
› People moved with the food
 Did they have time to build a home?

Agriculture began about 10,000 years
ago
› Where?
› Fertile crescent
People began growing their own food
 What did that do to their ‘time’?

› No wandering
› Build a more permanent shelter
› Build villages and communities

Science grew as humans worked to
develop better ways to produce food
› Trial and error

If they can produce food more
efficiently how does that affect their
time?
› Surplus food was traded
› Building, engineering, literature, and art skills
could be developed
Science further grew as farming
implements needed to be invented and
improved
 Tools made growing and raising food
more efficient

› Time?
› More of it was spent inventing tools and
making life easier

It is believed that writing and counting
developed from agriculture
› Surplus, storage bins, trade, sale, and
eventually taxation
› Containers had to be marked to indicate:
 Ownership, contents, and the amount

This made the way for written language
to be developed

Two broad areas
› Basic Research
 Why or how processes occur in plants and
animals
› Applied Research
 uses discoveries made in basic research to
help in practical ways
Mathematics
 Physical Science
 Life Science
 Social Science


Most areas overlap

Arithmetic
› Study of numbers and methods of
calculating

Geometry
› Practical area of math
› Mathematical relationships (lines,
angles, etc.

Several other areas
› logic, algebra, calculus,
probability, statistics

Earth Science
› Study of the environment in which plants
and animals grow

Geology
› Study of earth’s composition, structure,
history (soil science is a big part of this)

Meteorology
› study of earth’s atmosphere

Other areas include: hydrology,
oceanography, astronomy

Botany
› study of plants

Zoology
› study of animals
Deals with human society, sometimes
called behavioral science
 Includes anthropology, psychology,
sociology, education


Study of the makeup of material
(matter)
› Matter is anything that takes up spaces or
has mass

Study of the physical nature of
objects
› heat, light, electricity, mechanics
made up of several areas of
science
 similarities with areas of
occupations
 many of these areas overlap

Agronomy
 Horticulture
 Forestry
 Entomology
 Mechanical
Technology

Animal
Science
 Poultry
Science
 Aquaculture
 Environmental
Science


Study of plants and how they
relate to soil

Purpose:
› Improve crop production and
conserve natural resources

Growing crops for food, comfort,
beauty
› Ornamental Horticulture
› Olericulture
› Pomology

Growing and using forests
Part of Zoology
 Study of insects
and related small
animals


Production of animals for food

Raising chickens and other related fowl

Water Farming

Wisely using and protecting the things
around us

Use of machines and equipment
to do work

Discoveries have been made
throughout our history to improve our
lives
› Lets list a few of the recent ones

Genetically engineered plants
 We have been doing this for as long as
agriculture has been around through selective
breeding
 Tomato
 Calgene developed a tomato that resists rot
 Corn
 BT corn
 Round-Up Ready
 Many including: corn, sugar beets, cotton, alfalfa,
canola, soybeans and others

Alternative Fuels
› Ethanol
 Henry Ford’s Model T ran off of ethanol
 What is used to produce ethanol?
 Corn
 Will that affect our food supply?
› Bio-Diesel
› Is making your own fuel safe?
 What could happen?

Pest control
› Synthetic controls for fire ants in the south
 Higher ratio of nonproductive drone ants to
worker ants
› Synthetic controls for fruit tree insects
 Pheromones released will attract the male
insects so they never find a female