Department of Agriculture and Food Science
Department website: http://www.wku.edu/agriculture
Paul Woosley, Department Chair
Environmental Science and Technology 269
(270) 745-3151
agriculture@wku.edu
Faculty
Professor
Becky A. Gilfillen PhD (Plant and Soil Science), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1999
William T. Willian PhD (Plant & Soil Science), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1995
Paul B. Woosley PhD (Crop Science), University of Kentucky, 2002
Associate Professor
Jean D. Gumirakiza PhD (Economics), Utah State University, 2013
Stephen A. King PhD (Agricultural Economics), Oklahoma State University Main Campus, 2004
Thomas W. Kingery PhD (Agricultural Leadership, Education, & Communications), Texas A & M University, 2010
Martin Stone PhD (Agronomy), Texas A & M University, 1994
William D. Strunk PhD, University of Arkansas Main Campus, 2015
Assistant Professor
Phillip A. Gunter PhD (Animal Sciences), Auburn University, 2018
Luiz H. Pereira Silva PhD (Animal Science), Foreign College/University, 2018
Navdeep Singh PhD (Soil Science), South Dakota State University, 2020
Clinical Assistant Professor
Roger L. Dennis MAE (Agriculture Education, Secondary Education), Western Kentucky University, 1992
Clinical Associate Professor
Debra L. Shoulders DVM (Veterinary Medicine), Auburn University, 1994
Instructor I
Paige A. Smith MS (Agriculture), Western Kentucky University, 2017
Agricultural Economics Courses
AGEC 561 Agricultural Production and Economics 3 Hours
Production and cost functions, programming and decision-making principles and their application to agriculture.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGEC 563 Advanced Agricultural Finance 3 Hours
Farm finance problems including capital requirements, investment decisions, budgeting techniques, etc. Lending agencies and alternative means of acquiring capital.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGEC 568 Advanced World Food Development 3 Hours
Problems and opportunities in feeding an ever-increasing population. Assessment of world food production, poverty, businesses and cultures; ways of increasing production.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGEC 671 Advanced Agribusiness 3 Hours
Economic principles, marketing, management, and accounting techniques necessary for a profit-maximizing agribusiness venture. Students will follow steps of the disciplined entrepreneurship process to create an agribusiness venture. Comprehensive strategic planning for new or existing agribusinesses.
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; spring 2025; spring 2026
AGEC 675 Advanced Topics Agricultural Economics 3 Hours
No course description is available
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
Agricultural Education Courses
AGED 570 Methods of Teaching in Agriculture Education 3 Hours
Experiences related to the teaching of agriculture education, further preparing the prospective teacher in supervised occupational experience programs. Topics covered include FFA activities, classroom management, and general teaching techniques. Departments of Agriculture in other institutions are occasionally visited.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGED 571 Laboratory Design and Instructional Delivery Strategies in Agricultural Education 3 Hours
A teacher preparation course designed to prepare pre-service teachers for the student teaching experience and for a full-time teaching position. Unit planning, lesson preparation, laboratory design, and laboratory delivery comprise the major portion of this course. Note: Admission to student teaching required.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGED 575 Topics in Agriculture Education 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Special topics acquaint students with scientific developments of current interest in agricultural education. Appropriate topics are assigned. Lecture and assignments vary with credit.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGED 583 Curriculum Development and Design in Agricultural Education 3 Hours
This course will introduce students to the principles and practices of curriculum development in agricultural education. Students will learn how to develop and implement comprehensive agricultural education curriculum units and lesson plans, use a variety of instructional strategies and technologies to deliver agricultural education curriculum, and collaborate with other educators, agricultural professionals, and community members to develop and implement agricultural education programs.
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2024; fall 2025; fall 2026
AGED 584 Program Development, Evaluation, and Improvement in Agricultural Education 3 Hours
Covers planning, conducting, and following through instructional programs for secondary, post-secondary, and/or adult students. Provide students with a foundational understanding of the principles and theories of program development. This includes examining different models of program development, as well as the specific needs and challenges of developing programs in agricultural education.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGED 589 Ind Spec Prob Agriculture Education 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Supervised individual study in agricultural education.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGED 675 Advanced Topics in Agriculture Education 1-3 Hours
Advanced topics in agricultural education objectives should be designed to prepare students for careers in agricultural education, research, and extension, as well as for leadership roles in the agricultural industry and community.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
Agriculture Courses
AGRI 528 Population Genetics 3 Hours
Application of genetic and statistical concepts to populations of plants and domestic animals.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 327 and (AGRI 491 or equivalent)
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGRI 589 Advanced Agricultural Statistics 3 Hours
Statistical models and use of samples, variation, statistical measures, distributions, tests of significance, analysis of variance, regression, correlation and chi-square as related to interpretation and use of scientific data.
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
AGRI 590 Experimental Design 3 Hours
Statistical consideration in experimental design; covariance, multiple regression, factorial design, and incomplete block designs.
Prerequisite(s): AGRI 491 or permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; spring 2025; spring 2026
AGRI 593 Advanced Sustainable Agriculture 3 Hours
Effect of diminishing resources, environmental pollution, and short-term economics on the sustainability of productive agriculture. Emphasis on managing crops, livestock, and other farm resources in providing an ecological-economical balance in agricultural production. Note: Upper division standing, minimum of 18 hours in agriculture or related areas required.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
AGRI 597 Independent Special Problems/Agriculture 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 9 hrs)
Supervised individual study in agriculture.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: summer 2024; fall 2024; spring 2025; summer 2025; fall 2025; spring 2026; fall 2026
AGRI 598 Graduate Seminar 1 Hour (repeatable max of 3 hrs)
Problems and research in agriculture. Required of all graduate students.
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; fall 2024; spring 2025; fall 2025; spring 2026; fall 2026
AGRI 599 Thesis Research/Writing 1-6 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Thesis research and writing directed by faculty committee.
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; fall 2024; spring 2025; fall 2025; spring 2026; fall 2026
AGRI 600 Maintaining Matriculation 1-6 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Continued enrollment for thesis completion.
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; summer 2024; fall 2024; fall 2026
AGRI 675 Advanced Topics/Agriculture 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 10 hrs)
Issues and scientific developments of current interest.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
Animal Science Courses
ANSC 475G Selected Topics 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Special topics acquaint advanced undergraduate students with scientific developments of current interest in agriculture. Appropriate topic titles are assigned. Lecture and assignments vary with credit.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 520 Advanced Meat Processing 3 Hours
This course focuses on the principles and practices of meat processing, including product formulation, preservation technologies, food safety, ingredient functionality, and regulatory compliance.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 530 Advanced Parasitology of Livestock 3 Hours
Introduces students to internal and external parasites affecting livestock including cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry. Emphasis is placed on parasite biology, life cycles, host-parasite interactions, and the impact of parasitism on animal health. Students will explore principles of parasite control, integrated parasite management, and anthelmintic resistance with a focus on practical applications in modern livestock systems. The hands-on lab sessions provide foundational training in diagnostic techniques used in clinical and field settings. Students will learn to identify parasites, conduct fecal exams and fecal egg counts, and prepare control and prevention strategies utilizing the livestock housed at the WKU Agriculture Research & Education Center (WKU Farm).
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 531 Advanced Dairy Production 2 Hours
Principles of nutrition and management and their practical application to commercial dairy herds are emphasized.
Corequisite(s): ANSC 532
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 532 Advanced Dairy Production Laboratory 1 Hour
A laboratory course correlated with ANSC 531.
Corequisite(s): ANSC 531
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 537 Advanced Reproductive Physiology 2 Hours
Endocrinology and physiology of reproductive systems; anatomical physiology and biochemical bases of reproduction, artificial insemination, synchronized estrus and related topics are presented.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Corequisite(s): ANSC 538
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
ANSC 538 Advanced Physiology/Reproduction Lab 1 Hour
A laboratory course correlated with ANSC 537.
Corequisite(s): ANSC 537
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
ANSC 542 Advanced Beef Production 2 Hours
History and importance of the beef cattle industry; programs and areas of production, selection, breeding, feeding and management and common diseases are included.
Corequisite(s): ANSC 543
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
ANSC 543 Advanced Beef Production Laboratory 1 Hour
A laboratory course correlated with ANSC 542.
Corequisite(s): ANSC 542
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
ANSC 545 Ruminant Nutrition 3 Hours
Rumen development and function, products of fermentation, nutrient requirements, absorption and metabolism, symptoms of deficiency and toxicity.
Prerequisite(s): (ANSC 345 and BIOL 446) or equivalent or permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 547 Advanced Animal Nutrition 3 Hours
The nutrient requirements of the monogastric animals, structure, metabolism and function of each nutrient class, interrelationship of the nutrient classes, deficiency and toxicity symptoms.
Prerequisite(s): (ANSC 345 and BIOL 446) or equivalent or permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 548 Advanced Applied Animal Nutrition 4 Hours
Livestock feeds and their nutrients; functions of and requirements for nutrients; evaluation of feeds; feeding practices and formulation of rations for all classes of livestock are included.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 558 Advanced Animal Growth and Development 3 Hours
This course examines the biological mechanisms governing growth and development in livestock species from conception to maturity. Topics include cellular and tissue development, skeletal and muscle growth, endocrine regulation, body composition, and the genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors influencing growth.
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
ANSC 580 Advanced Digestive Anatomy of Ruminant Animals 3 Hours
Provide students with an in-depth understanding of the physiology, microbiology, digestion, and metabolism of the ruminant digestive system.
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
ANSC 675 Advanced Topics in Animal Science 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Issues and scientific developments of current interest.
Recent Term(s) Offered: spring 2024; fall 2024; spring 2025; fall 2025; spring 2026; fall 2026
Horticulture Courses
HORT 407G Plant Propagation 2 Hours
Plant propagation is studied and practiced as an art and a science. Sexual and asexual techniques include propagation by seed, cuttings, grafting, layering, division and tissue culture.
Prerequisite(s): AGRO 110
Corequisite(s): HORT 408G
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
Plant & Soil Sciences Courses
PLSS 509 Advanced Weed Ecology and Management 2 Hours
Identification of prominent weed species; relationship of weeds to crop production problems; physical and chemical control measures.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Corequisite(s): PLSS 510
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
PLSS 510 Advanced Weed Ecology and Management Laboratory 1 Hour
A laboratory course correlated with AGRO 509.
Corequisite(s): PLSS 509
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
PLSS 519 Principles of Fruit, Vegetable, and Viticulture Production 3 Hours
Production of vegetables that are particularly suited for Kentucky, considering variety selection, culture, harvesting, processing, and marketing.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
PLSS 522 Advanced Grain Crop Production 3 Hours
Distribution, morphology, culture, phenology, harvest and utilization of field crops are presented.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
PLSS 525 Advanced Forage Production Management 3 Hours
Distribution, improvement, morphology, culture, harvesting and utilization of forage crops are presented.
Recent Term(s) Offered: fall 2026
PLSS 552 Advanced Soil Ecosystems 3 Hours
Soil microbial populations and systems and their influence on plant nutrition. Soil organic matter, its decomposition and associated microorganisms; oxidation-reduction process; and nitrogen fixation.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
PLSS 554 Advanced Soil and Water Conservation 3 Hours
Economic utilization of land for agricultural recreation and public purposes; interpretation and application of soil conservation; public and industrial uses; practice in designing land-use maps.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
PLSS 575 Special Topics in Agronomy 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Special topics acquaint advanced undergraduate students with scientific developments of current interest in agriculture. Appropriate topic titles are assigned. Lecture and assignments vary with credit.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
PLSS 576 Advanced Topics in Horticultural Sciences 1-3 Hours (repeatable max of 6 hrs)
Special topics acquaint advanced undergraduate students with scientific developments of current interest in agriculture. Appropriate topic titles are assigned. Lecture and assignments vary with credit.
Prerequisite(s): permission of instructor
Recent Term(s) Offered: None
PLSS 676 Advanced Topics in Horticultural Sciences 1-3 Hours
No course description is available
Recent Term(s) Offered: None