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By exposing students to the concept of digital agriculture earlier in their lives, they will be able to develop the proper mindset to advance the field further when they enter the professional world.
Introduction
In order to feed the world's growing population, farmers will need to produce 70% more food by 2050 than they did in 2006 (Bruinsma, 2009). To meet this demand, farmers and agriculture companies are turning to Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and data visualization to optimize analytic capabilities and, ultimately, enhance their production through digital agricultural practices (Jayaraman, Palmer, Zaslavsky, & Georgakopoulos, 2015). However, few students are given the opportunity to explore the potential and impacts of modern "digital" agriculture during their educational experience. Therefore, this article will provide an example instructional activity combined with the principles of IoT technology and agriculture that could be used or mimicked to present students with an advanced look at an essential field related to food production and the growing population. Specifically, the instructional context of this les- son was developed to be situated within the Grand Engineering Challenge of Managing the Nitrogen Cycle (National Academy of Engineering, 2019). The activities of this lesson directly relate to this Grand Engineering Challenge because students will develop a means of surveying farmland for nitrogen deposits and explore ways for farmers to better manage their crop production. This exercise will also enhance the rigor of engineering design and provide socially connected relevance to learning. Digital agriculture is an idea in which many students around the world, and in the Midwest U.S. specifically, can find interest, as they may be surrounded by agriculture in multiple forms. By exposing students to the concept of digital agriculture earlier in their lives, they will be able to develop the proper mindset to advance the field further when they enter the professional world. The challenge included in this lesson centers on students designing and programming a robot to monitor a field for nitrogen deposits with the intent of optimizing fertilization practices.
Agricultural Advances and Fertilization of Crops
Without advances in agricultural practices and technology, humanity's ability to produce enough food for the entire population would have fallen short millennia ago (Zimdahl, 2015). Settled agriculture, machine-assisted practices, and the introduction of science and...