Engineering for Precision Agriculture Minor

Location(s): Brookings Main Campus

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Students looking at machinery.

Program Coordinator/Contact

Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan, Klingbeil Endowed Department Head and Distinguished Professor
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Raven Precision Agriculture Center 136
605-688-5666

Program Information

The minor in Engineering for Precision Agriculture is appropriate for students interested in preparing for careers with agricultural machinery manufacturers, agricultural service system developers, and service providers. The minor will develop in students the specific skills and understanding required to create new systems that utilize emerging technologies to enhance productivity and sustainability in agriculture.

Course Delivery Format

Competence in Engineering for Precision Agriculture requires both study and practice. Instruction occurs through a combination of traditional classroom methods, laboratory exercises using contemporary engineering technologies, internship/research experiences, and focused design projects.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing the minor must understand how sensors, controls, and machines are combined to form a system that matches inputs to site specific conditions. Specifically students will be able to:

apply mathematics and engineering science to the analysis of systems for crop and livestock production,
combine sensor technologies with agronomic decision processes to develop solutions for specific agricultural production systems,
design systems to control the application of inputs to match spatial agronomic input plans,
demonstrate the ability to work effectively in an area of precision agricultural systems.

Requirements for Engineering for Precision Agriculture Minor: 18 Credits

ABE 314 - Ag Power and Machines Credits: 3
ABE 314L - Ag Power and Machines Lab Credits: 1
EE 315 - Linear Control Systems Credits: 3
or ME 451 - Automatic Controls Credits: 3

Internship

Select one of the following. Credits: 1

Capstone Design Experience

Select from the following. Credits: 4

ABE 411 - Design Project III Credits: 2
and ABE 422 - Design Project IV Credits: 2
EE 464 - Senior Design Project I (COM) Credits: 2
and EE 465 - Senior Design Project II (COM) Credits: 2
ME 478 - Mechanical Systems Design I Credits: 2
and ME 479 - Mechanical Systems Design II (COM) Credits: 1
and ME 479L - Mechanical Systems Design II Lab Credits: 1

Electives

Credits: 6

ABE 350 - Hydraulic Systems Credits: 2
ABE 350L - Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems Lab Credits: 1
ABE 464 - Monitoring and Controlling Agriculture and Biological Systems Credits: 1
ABE 464L - Monitoring and Controlling Agriculture and Biological Systems Lab Credits: 1
CSC 130 - Visual Basic Programming (COM) Credits: 3
or CSC 150 - Computer Science I (COM) Credits: 3
GEOG 372 - Introduction to GIS (COM) Credits: 2
GEOG 372L - Introduction to GIS Lab (COM) Credits: 1
PRAG 440 - Crop Management with Precision Farming Credits: 2
PRAG 440L - Crop Management with Precision Farming Lab Credits: 1