This is an entry-level course for first-year students. We begin with field production, move on to postharvest preservation and food, then explore how microorganisms can be put to work and how genomic tools help, and finally place all of this within a sustainability and risk-management frame. In the first part of the semester, we look at modern agricultural technologies and trends, protected cultivation and environmental control, and crop management with labor-saving practices (including direct seeding). We then discuss how pests, diseases, and weeds develop and address them using IPM, including chemical ecology and pheromone-based methods. After the midterm, we shift to postharvest topics: what water activity is and why drying methods change flavor and texture. Next, over two sessions, we walk through the sake-making process and introduce the basics of amino-acid fermentation, enzyme-based processes, and recombinant DNA. We wrap up by learning how molecular tools—PCR, sequencing, and eDNA—are applied in agricultural settings.