As of Feb. 1st, moderate drought or worse conditions make up the western two-thirds of Kansas. The drought level increases as you head towards the northwest and southwest corners of the state, especially the southwest corner. The six to ten-day outlook (Feb. 16 to 20) indicates we are predicted to have a 33 to 50% likelihood of above normal temperatures and a leaning towards a 40 to 50% of above normal precipitation (which still isn’t much).
The eight to 14-day outlook (Feb. 18 to 24) indicates a 50% to 70% chance of above normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of below normal precipitation. Not the outlook wheat farmers wanted to hear.
Lately there has been a great deal across various media platforms about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) or STEAM (throw in the arts). K-12 schools have STEM Days. The Wetlands Center at Cheyenne Bottoms has drop in STEM days and on and on. Interestingly, most are looking for ways to relate STEM to many areas, yet ignore what is one of the first and original STEM science areas that has reached them together for centuries – Agriculture. So today, let’s take a dive into agriculture and STEM.
Agriculture was essentially the first science. Plant breeding goes back over 10,000 years as humans transitioned from hunter gatherers to a settled lifestyle. Chinese discovered over 2,000 years ago how to biologically control some insect pests and the list can go on and on. There are two areas where technology seems to take giant leaps over human history. One is warfare which has led to advances from medicine to maritime and aviation technological advances. The other large area of technological advancement is agriculture. The plow was developed thousands of years ago. A whole variety of planting and harvesting equipment culminating with today’s tractors, combines and a host of other equipment. Naturally engineering was a huge part of this. Producers were using DTN satellite technology for information over 30 years ago. Autosteer, precision guidance, self-driving equipment were all on agriculture’s radar before the general public’s. Computer technology is involved in everything from the equipment being used to developing variable rate application equipment and field yield maps along with modern animal production facilities. Drones and the whole area of remote sensing and rapidly evolving and becoming part of the standard ag tool kit. And ag producers also need a good background in basic biology and even chemistry and physics.
Anyone involved in agriculture knows how much a part of everyday life mathematics is in agriculture from determining fertilizer and pesticide application to yields and the complex record keeping required.
Agriculture is really the first STEM curriculum and our educational system and society in general need to help young people understand its importance and help lead more young people into agricultural careers.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.
