Spring

Hiking Tour of Chile: Cultures, Forests, Volcanos, and Wildlife

This course will focus on the unique natural and cultural history of the Lakes and Volcanoes district of south-central Chile, including unique volcanic and coastal landscapes, endemic forests and wildlife, hot springs, and the indigenous Mapuche people and their customs. 

During the Spring Break visit, we will hike and observe how recent volcanic eruptions have shaped landscapes and forests. We will also visit Truful-Truful Canyon and its beautiful waterfalls. Other stops include hikes to several mountain lakes and national parks formed by volcanic and glacial activity.

Tropical Agriculture and Culture in Ghana

Program dates are tentative and subject to change

This Travel Study course will take place in the Coastal Savannah, the Semi deciduous rainforest, and the High rain-forest Evergreen ecological zones of Ghana, where students will learn about tropical agriculture, agroforestry, animal production, animal ecology, and aspects of Ghanaian culture in foods, art, and music in the three ecological zones chosen for the travel study. Students will have the opportunity to interact with local farmers for community service.

ECON 495: Imagination-added Agriculture Domestic Travel Course (Study USA)

This travel course will allow students to meet and explore creative farms and agricultural businesses. Students will engage with entrepreneurs and innovators creating tomorrow's agriculture, whether direct-to-consumer farms, artisan producers, or alternative crops and livestock businesses. The group will travel by bus to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:40-1:55 P.M. during the spring semester. 

Course Credits: 3 credits (ECON 495)

Course Fee: $1,500

Tentative Stops:

Comparing Food Systems - Iowa vs California (Study USA)

This course will review food systems frameworks and considerations, focusing on food supply chains (production systems, distribution, processing, and retail/markets). Concepts related to systems thinking will be applied to food systems, and discussion topics will include influences such as natural resources (water), innovation and technology, demographics (labor), and economics (price of food). The pre-departure course will include tours of Iowa food production to assist in comparing and contrasting regional food systems in Iowa and California.

Integrated Management of Tropical Crops - Costa Rica

Program dates are tentative and subject to change

This program provides an introduction to the production of a wide variety of tropical crops (coffee, banana, pineapple, mango, sugar cane, cut flowers, vegetables, papaya, etc.) from the perspective of Costa Rica. The class also explores Costa Rican ecology, history, and culture. Close cooperation with the University of Costa Rica faculty allows many unique opportunities during the class visit.

3 credits for Plant Pathology/Entomology/Horticulture 511 

Agricultural Production, Business and Trade in Australia

The course aims to enhance students' understanding of production and competition in agricultural markets. Students will analyze production agriculture (a typical farm or ranch), business, and trade in Australia and compare them with respect to the USA. The pre-departure orientation will familiarize students with Australia's history, culture, politics, geography, soils, agriculture, economy, and trade.

3 credits for the AGRON/ECON 496 (2 credits of AGRON and 1 of ECON or 2 credits of ECON and 1 of AGRON) during spring semester

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Spring