Silage corn yields are limited by irrigation effectiveness in the Central Valley of California. This experiment was conducted to determine if silage yield would suffer after altering irrigation methods and timing. The effects of irrigation method and timing were tested on field corn [Zea mays (DKC 67-86)]. The study was carried out in Denair, California on a Whitney Rocklin sandy loam. Silage tonnage, grain yield, and plant height were compared across four treatments with three repetitions of each treatment. The treatments were every other row, the grower’s standard practice, deficit, and a control. The experiment showed that every other row irrigation does not significantly hurt silage corn yields when compared to the control, with every row irrigated on the same schedule as every other row. Grain yield showed the most variation among the treatments with the control yielding an average of 225.71 bushels per acre, deficit yielding an average of 140.04 bushels per acre, and the other two treatments ranging in between. Overall, the experiment showed that more irrigations results in higher yielding corn, and every other row irrigation could be utilized to speed up the irrigation schedule.

Additional Index Words: Irrigation, furrow irrigation, every other row irrigation, silage corn, utilizing dairy lagoon water, estimating grain yield, Zea mays (DKC 67-86).

This project included a base evaluation contest in 2008, a 128-page manual compiled to include lessons on preparing for an interview and contest guidelines with materials, and a second evaluation contest in 2009. The project was evaluated on criteria set by the client, the California State 4-H Program, and included: if the manual met the contest’s participants needs, if the contest was held, the number of participants, and if the contest was an overall success through the guidelines of the manual.

The findings deemed this project successful as all evaluation criteria were met. The manual was able to condense an incredible amount of information and able to stand as an information resource and organizer’s guide. The 208% growth in contest participants illustrated that the contest addressed an interest and need of life skills by youth for workforce and adult life preparedness.

The purpose of this project was to conduct focus groups to find ways to change the radio station. After conducting several focus groups, made up of up to six people, the results demonstrate that the listeners enjoy the level of crudeness, such as sexual themes, on the station. However, the advertisers do not. Results also show that the station should add less popular songs, from the core artists played, to their music catalogue. The focus group participants want to win prizes such as concert tickets. Results show that people desire the KZOZ website to feature an improved concert calendar that is more frequently updated and highlights concerts across California.

After analyzing the results and considering the researchers' recommendations the radio station can make alterations to the station. The radio station could gain additional listeners and can sell their listener profile as potential customers to advertisers. Additionally, based on the recommendations of this study KZOZ could potentially gain more advertisers.

The survey of local high school agricultural teachers asked them to answer the five main questions regarding the video, Hydroponic Production: 1.) Do you currently implement hydroponics in your teaching curriculum? 2.) Do you feel that your students would benefit from learning more about hydroponics? 3.) Do you feel that the video, "Hydroponic Production," was educational and easy to understand?

4.) Overall, would you use the video as a supplement for teaching more about hydroponics? 5.) What changes would you recommend to enhance the video and its overall effectiveness?

There were no results to prove that the video would be either effective or non-effective within high school agricultural programs. The teachers that were asked to respond and evaluate the authors’ video either did not care or did not have the time to reply. After completing the senior project, gathering the results, and reviewing the findings, the authors determined that the creation of the video could be a great success if the teachers had taken the time to evaluate its usefulness.

The author studied a brochure created by the FDA on how to read nutrition facts labels and then create their own based on the previous brochure. The author added other vital information, such as, ingredients panel, and the suggested food intake for the separate food groups. Next, the author created a questionnaire to test how well the population used the brochure and if it was effective or not.

The study was conducted outside three different grocery stores in the city of San Luis Obispo, CA. The study showed most of the people were between the ages of 40 and 55 years, more than half of the people were familiar with nutrition facts labels, and if provided with a brochure on how to read a nutrition facts label they would use it when grocery shopping.

With the statistics of this research, the author hopes that it may have an impact on some of the population, and educate the public about healthy living.

A pheasant facility and enterprise at the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Animal Science Unit would be the perfect hands on learning device that can really epitomize the motto, “Learn By Doing”. The enterprise projects have long been an integral component of the Agricultural Education and Communication curriculum and many students have gained the critical management skills necessary to be competitive in production and allied industries - including teaching.

A set of questions were developed to find the topics of importance needed to construct a pheasant unit. Upon return of the results, a guide was formed with the information and it will be used in classrooms, both at the high school level and collegiate level. The guide is also available and useful for those entrepreneurs looking for a backyard hobby or a niche market to cater to the hunting communities.

Guidelines and plans were created in order to help an agricultural teacher or community member go through the previously mentioned approval process if they were to want to construct a facility of this sort for the school’s agricultural education program.

The focus of this project turned more towards the process of approval as well as all materials, equipment, and finances needed to actually complete the rabbitry on the school campus.

A thirteen item questionnaire was distributed to sixty-five students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, enrolled in either Agricultural Education and Communication courses or Agricultural Business courses. Both upper and lower division classes were surveyed. The questionnaires were distributed and collected from June 2, 2009 to June 4, 2009.

The findings from this study suggest that the majority of respondents’ general perception towards organic food was neutral. There was a positive association between the perception and the dollars spent on organic food. The more a student viewed organic food positively, the more likely they were to spend money on organic products. There was also a negative relationship between the price point and aesthetics of organic food and the respondents’ buying habits. The study also found that the students’ neutral perception of organic food was somewhat different than that of the previous research done; that typically found organic food as being viewed positively by most respondents.