McLoughlin High School

AGRICULTURE 1:  This course introduces the student to agriculture and the FFA.  Agriculture in the US and the world is looked at in terms of marketing, careers, and economics.  Record keeping, shop safety and tool identification, parliamentary procedure, livestock evaluation and tractor operation are also studied.  Students completing the course will receive state certification on tractor operation.

AG 2 ANIMAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS:  This course covers the basics of animal husbandry and deals with nutrition, systems of the body, artificial insemination, record keeping, dissection, livestock selection and identification of cuts of meat. 

AG 2 PLANT/SOIL SYSTEMS:  Soil formation, structure, characteristics, and management are explored in this course.  Students will also learn land use, basic survey, soil classification, and landscaping techniques.  Emphasis will be placed on hands-on experimentation.  Offered 1st semester, alternating years, starting in 2000.

AG 3 FARM MANAGEMENT:  Students will learn aspects of running an agricultural business.  Record keeping, decision-making, economics, tax management, and the futures market are all dealt with in this course.  Students will run their own simulated farm to demonstrate their ability in the areas mentioned above. 

AG 3 MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES:  Students will learn the three points that are important to the management of natural resources. Students will study preservation of natural resources both past and future. The second viewpoint is exploitation of natural resources for the benefit of wealth and power. The final point is of the conservation viewpoint of treating resources carefully for collective economic and naturalist benefit.

AGRICULTURE POWER MECHANICS I:  This course will allow students to learn basic engine theory, hydraulics, parts identification and tool management. Students will work on small and large engines disassembling and reassembling them over the semester. Students will learn the fundamentals of working on hydraulic systems in agriculture.

AGRICULTURE POWER MECHANICS II:  Students will learn principles of pluming, home electrical systems, sheet rock, tap and die, and measurement. Students will construct a electrical circuit including a light switch and plug in. Students use copper, PVC, and steel pipe to construct the pluming system. This course will also discuss and demonstrate sheet rock and texturing principles in construction. Students will also be able to use a Tap a Die to construct bolts and nuts.

BASIC WELDING:  Offered 1st semester only.  This course introduces the student to the theory and fundamentals of welding. Oxy-Acetylene gas welding, Arc welding, and Mig welding will be covered.  25% of the class time will be spent in the classroom and 75% will be hands-on in the shop.  Students will perform a variety of the most common welds to demonstrate skills learned.  There is a $10.00 Lab Fee for this course.

ADVANCED WELDING/METALS:  This course follows Basic Welding and teaches the students to weld on materials other than steel.  The course also covers drawing and reading plans, bill of materials and metal fabrication.  Students will be required to construct a metal project using the techniques taught in Basic Welding and this course.  There is a $10.00 Lab Fee for this course.  Prerequisite:  Taken and passed Basic Welding.

AG PROJECTS:  Students in this course use skills learned in earlier Ag classes to construct or work on a project of their choice.  FFA members can use this course to further their progress on their SAE project. There is a $10.00 Lab Fee for the semester.  Prerequisite:  Taken and passed Ag 1, Gas Engines, or Basic Welding.