Cropping Systems
PLANTSCI 300 is an upper-division course examining Midwestern agronomic cropping systems through an agroecological lens, emphasizing sustainability, productivity, profitability, and the evaluation of crop-management practices.
Summary
What you’ll be able to do
Describe the dynamic history and unique characteristics of agriculture
Identify factors that drive change and those that constrain change in cropping systems
Use an agroecological approach to better understand and improve cropping systems
Explain key components of cropping systems and their impact on agroecosystem services and sustainability
Evaluate new and emerging approaches to crop management in the context of sustainability and potential tradeoffs
Develop a comprehensive grant research proposal that effectively addresses a topic pertinent to sustainability of cropping systems
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗No recorded grade history.
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapAGRONOMY 100, HORT 120,PLANTSCI 110,ENVIR ST/AGROECOL/C&E SOC/ENTOM 103(or AGRONOMY 103 prior to Fall 2025), or graduate/professional standing
- AGRONOMY 100
- HORT 120
- PLANTSCI 110
- AGROECOL/C&ESOC/ENTOM/ENVIRST 103
- (or AGRONOMY 103 prior to Fall 2025)
- graduate/professional standing
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
- AGRONOMY 100
- HORT 120
- PLANTSCI 110
- AGROECOL/C&ESOC/ENTOM/ENVIRST 103
- (or AGRONOMY 103 prior to Fall 2025)
- graduate/professional standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
No records available.
Student experience
the class
Agronomic cropping systems of the Midwest: environmental impacts, productivity, and profitability. Cropping system diversification and sustainable agriculture. An agroecological approach, the application of ecological concepts and principles for the improvement of cropping systems is emphasized. Specific topics include agricultural intensification, agroecosystem structure and function, aspects of technology adoption, soil erosion and conservation, tillage systems, weed ecology and management, nutrient dynamics and management, water quality, crop rotation, and cropping system diversification.
difficulty & workload
No workload feedback recorded.
Topics
- Midwestern agronomic cropping systems
- Sustainable agriculture and cropping-system diversification
- Agroecological analysis of cropping systems
- Soil erosion, conservation, and tillage systems
- Weed ecology and management
- Nutrient dynamics and water quality
- Crop rotation and agricultural intensification
- Technology adoption and sustainability tradeoffs
Skills
- Apply agroecological principles to improve cropping systems
- Identify drivers and constraints shaping cropping-system change
- Explain how cropping-system components affect agroecosystem services and sustainability
- Evaluate crop-management approaches for sustainability and tradeoffs
- Develop a grant research proposal on cropping-system sustainability
- Integrate environmental, productivity, and profitability considerations
- Analyze soil, tillage, weed, nutrient, and water-quality issues
- Communicate research ideas in a grant-proposal format
Grades
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
No grades available yet.
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
[]
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
No records available.
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "cac9639dc8d26f390a7a2dba6855dec4431e372c44b26298642451c64d22638a",
"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}