Explotación de cultivos

A 90-minute, 4-round basic Express simulation for Spanish vocational training (Formacion Profesional), module 0476 Produccion agricola of the Tecnico en Produccion Agropecuaria (Real Decreto 1634/2009).

The learner is Ainhoa Bescos, a newly qualified crop manager of a fictional 180-hectare irrigated family farm in a town of Huesca (Aragon) through the 2027-28 campaign, with an irrigation allocation of 4,200 cubic metres per hectare instead of a normal year's 6,500, 960 tonnes of crop at stake and a budget of 189 euros per tonne.

Four situations set the farm's course: October 2027, and what is sown and what is not (a crop plan fitted to the allocation, with fallow on the poorest plots, not maize on every hectare) and how it is sown (certified seed on its date and density); February 2028, and how the water is shared out (by crop and stage, with probes and evapotranspiration data, not spent in spring) and how the crops are fertilised (nitrogen by balance, not double just in case); May 2028, and how the crops are protected (integrated protection with thresholds, an authorised product, the applicator's card and the treatment record) and how the harvest is sold (a staggered sale); and August 2028, and how the harvest is done and the campaign closed (each plot at its moisture point; costs, water and records in order).

Two critical errors cap the round: pumping from a well with no concession, and an unauthorised leftover product applied by someone with no card and not recorded. Some mistakes look fine on the day and come back periods later. KPIs: yield reached (per cent of the attainable yield), cost per tonne, gross margin lost and water short of what the crops needed.

Lesson: with limited water, deciding what not to sow matters as much as deciding what to sow. Spanish primary, English parity. Fictional town, farm, cooperative, irrigation community and people; real curriculum and rules cited.

An introductory simulation that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, designed for undergraduate courses. It also works in vocational and high-school programmes and in onboarding sessions.