Week 6

Overview: In the morning, students began the day at shadowing a Nueces county agent, learning about their crucial role agriculture and sustaining the community. The discussion offered insight on the intricacies of the duties of a county agent. Students then went on to tour a grain storage facility where they learned about their operational processes.

Objective:  After shadowing the agent, students were shown the importance of agricultural knowledge and infrastructure in sustaining the community. The visit to the grain storage facility further emphasized this idea by illustrating the critical role of proper storage techniques in preserving crop quality.

Overview: On Tuesday morning, students traveled to Port Lavaca where they met with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) agent. Students were provided with an in depth discussion about various agricultural machinery, including a cotton gin. The day concluded with a visit to a cotton gin, where the steps involved in cotton processing were observed, detailing each stage from initial arrival to final product.

Objective: This extension experience offered students insight on the importance of sustainable and productive agricultural practices. Being able to witness the detailed process of the cotton gin highlighted the importance of efficiency and quality control, and why each stage is just as crucial as the next.

Overview: On Wednesday, students collaborated in groups to achieve several tasks, including installation of soil moisture sensors, conducting drone flights for data collection, and gathering soil moisture and plant temperature data. Students also began preparation for a digital dashboard. 

Objective: Wednesdays tasks allowed for students to strengthen their skills regarding environmental sensing and data integration. This equips students with effective analyzation and visualization skills to facilitate insights that will optimize agricultural practices for sustainable crop management.

Overview: On Thursday, students worked on project tasks including collecting data from the cotton plots, the creation of  orthomosaics, a story map, as well as a dashboard. Their efforts focused on integrating field data into comprehensive digital platforms for analysis and presentation. 

Objective: Students engaged in practical applications of digital agriculture through hands on activities involving field data collection, sensor installation, and software utilization, specifically Agisoft and QGIS. These software skills enhance their understanding of digital agriculture, preparing them for future roles in data integration and geospatial technology.

Overview: On Friday, Students were visited by Dr. Paxton, where they learned about EnviroPro sensors and their installation process. In addition, they conducted a drone flight, as well as employed two distinct sensors to gather temperature readings from the cotton plots as well as soil moisture levels. Following the data collection, students then were able to utilize software tools to process and interpret the data, creating a proper visual representation. 

Objective: Students gained practical experience in integrating drone flight data and sensor technologies for collecting plant temperature and soil moisture data. After using this data to create visual representations, students enhanced their understanding of data interpretation in digital agriculture.