Processing Operations

Processing OperationsThere are many aspects and stages involved in taking a raw ingredient to a finished product: food, fiber, or fuel. This option combines the principles of engineered systems and management of those systems with a focus in business, agriculture, and mechanization. This option will prepare an individual for graduate study.



Required Classes:


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Animal, Food & Industrial Uses of Grain
Identification and comparison of grain quality characteristics desired by livestock feeders, human food processors and industrial users, and methods used to measure these characteristics.

Marketing of Agricultural Commodities
Operation and use of agricultural commodity markets and institutions as applied to enterprise and firm risk management. Cash; futures and futures option markets; basis; hedging; price discovery; fundamental analysis; and risk management strategies.

Animal Products
Knowledge of edible animal products with particular emphasis to meat products from livestock and poultry. Includes all aspects of the meat industry from slaughter to consumption. Methods of slaughter and fabrication, conversion of muscle to meat, processing techniques, preservation and storage, and consumer related topics discussed and demonstrated.

Calculus for Managerial & Social Sciences
Rudiments of differential and integral calculus with applications to problems from business, economics, and social sciences.

or

Analytic Geometry & Calculus I
Functions of one variable, limits, differentiation, exponential, trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, maximum-minimum, and basic integration theory (Riemann sums) with some applications.

Internship in
Mechanized Systems Management 
Practical experience, directed learning, and career exploration and development in a selected business, industry, agency, or educational institution.

or

Industrial Safety 
Identifies safety and health risks in industrial work environments. Focus on how managers and supervisors meet their responsibilities for providing a safe workplace for their employees. Includes the identification and remediation of workplace hazards. Online course offered by Iowa State University through the AG*IDEA consortium. Contact CASNR Distance Education Consortium Coordinator for course details, prerequisites and registration information.



Heat & Mass Transfer
Fundamentals of food engineering including material and energy balances, fluid mechanics, heat transfer and mass transfer.

Hydraulic Power Systems 
Theory and application of fluids under controlled pressure to perform work in mobile and industrial applications. Operation of components and functional planning of circuits with emphasis on troubleshooting and analysis.

Food Engineering Unit Operations
Unit operations and their applications to food processing.


Processing Electives [7-9 hours]:


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Producing Grain for Animal, Food and Industrial Uses
Genetic development, production practices, and grain handling and storage procedures to deliver quality grain to livestock feeders, human food processors and industrial uses.

Processed Meats
Modern meat processing industry and its use of science and technology. The fabrication, processing, preservation, sanitation, food safety, ethnic evolvement, and utilization of manufactured and processed meat. Actual laboratory preparation of processed meats and by-products of the meat packing industry.

Energy Systems
Overview of energy systems, sources, transformations, efficiency, and storage. Fossil fuels, biomass, wind, solar, nuclear, and hydrogen. Sustainability and environmental trade-offs of different energy systems.

Food Composition & Analysis
Major components of foods, their structures, and their role in the functional and nutritional properties of foods. Chemical methods for the determination and characterization of major food components.

Food Safety & Sanitation
Various factors that result in food illness: food allergy, natural toxins, parasites, microbial and viral food borne infections and food borne intoxications. Students will assess hazards, identify critical control points and establish monitoring and system verification procedures.

Food Quality Assurance
Quality related issues as they pertain to manufacturing, processing, and/or testing of foods, with a major emphasis on food regulations, statistical process control and Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP).

Cereal Technology
Chemistry and technology of the cereal grains. Post-harvest processing and utilization for food and feed. Current industrial processes and practices, and the theoretical basis for these operations.

Fruit & Vegetable Technology
Harvesting and postharvest handling of fruit and vegetables, processing and safety issues, processes of ripening and/or maturation in fresh fruits and vegetables.

Dairy Products Technology 
Physical, chemical, and microbiological properties of milk. Principles of milk processing and manufacture of cultured dairy products, cheeses, ice cream, and concentrated dairy products.

Equipment Principles
Operational characteristics of field, farmstead materials handling, processing and turf maintenance machines and their components. Includes objective comparisons of performance, principles for alignment and adjustment, calibration of metering systems and standards necessary for effective operational management of machines.


After Graduation:

After completing a B.S. in Mechanized Systems Management with an emphasis in Processing Operations, many graduates pursue a career in the installation and operation of processing equipment. Others find jobs as a manager of facilities and personnel. There are also students who choose to continue with their education and pursue advanced degrees.