These course materials are designed to provide a foundation of basic knowledge in production agriculture as a prelude to further education in vocational agriculture. The guide contains 6 sections and 22 units of instruction. Each unit includes all or most of eight basic components: performance objectives, suggested activities for the teacher, information sheets, assignment sheets, job sheets, transparency masters, tests, and answers to tests and assignment sheets. All of the unit components focus on measurable and observable learning outcomes. Units of instruction are designed for use in more than one lesson or class period. The following topics are covered in this course: orientation to vocational agriculture; agricultural safety; leadership--Future Farmers of America (FFA), parliamentary procedure, making a group presentation, supervised occupational experience programs, recordkeeping transactions, inventories and net worth, orientation to FFA recordkeeping, depreciation, closing procedures; animal science--the livestock industry, beef breeds and selection, swine breeds and selection, sheep breeds and selection, dairy breeds and selection, horse breeds and selection; plant science; and agricultural mechanics--orientation and safety, arc welding, metalwork, and oxy-gas cutting. (KC)