Source: UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA submitted to
GRADUATE TRAINING IN SUSTAINABLE AND SAFE CROP PRODUCTION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0219194
Grant No.
2010-38420-20326
Project No.
FLAE-2009-03211
Proposal No.
2009-03211
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
KK
Project Start Date
Jan 1, 2010
Project End Date
Dec 31, 2014
Grant Year
2010
Project Director
Hodges, A. C.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
G022 MCCARTY HALL
GAINESVILLE,FL 32611
Performing Department
Plant Pathology
Non Technical Summary
This project addresses the targeted expertise shortage area of Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems and Relevant Discipline Code (G). The project?s goal is to increase the number of crop advisors in both the private and public sector. It will help to enhance the sustainability and safety of the nation?s food production through multidisciplinary and specialized doctoral level training in plant health management. Fellows will be broadly instructed through coursework and internships over a period of 3 years in the prevention, diagnosis and sustainable management of plant health problems. Fellows will also receive specialized training in food safety as it applies to crop production. The training will be accomplished through the multi-disciplinary Doctor of Plant Medicine Program at the University of Florida in cooperation with crop consulting firms and the Cooperative Extension Service in the U.S. Trainee progress will be evaluated bi-annually by their Supervisory Committee and at the conclusion of their program of study by written and oral examinations. This project addresses the national need to replace independent crop consultants and Extension personnel increasingly lost through retirement. These crop advisors will protect the U.S. food supply and natural resources in a globally oriented and technologically advanced world economy. The specific USDA/CSREES Strategic Goals and Objectives, 2007-2012, relevant to the project include: 1. Enhance International Competitiveness of American Agriculture, 2. Enhance the Competitiveness and Sustainability of Rural Farm Economies, 3. Enhance Protection and Safety of the Nation?s Agriculture and Food Supply, 4. Improve the Nation?s Nutrition and Health, and 5. Protect and Enhance the Nation?s Natural Resource Base and Environment.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
90360993020100%
Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The objectives are to: 1) Train three graduate students at the doctoral level to fill nationally identified expertise shortage areas in the food and agricultural sciences, 2) Provide an increased number of workforce-ready and globally competitive graduates in the food and agricultural sciences, 3) Increase the number of graduate degrees awarded in the food and agricultural sciences, (4) Increase the number of outstanding graduates, including those from traditionally underrepresented groups, and 5) Support graduate training to develop core competencies in National Needs Fellows to meet the emerging market demands in the food and agricultural sciences. Broadly trained, interdisciplinary plant health practitioners will be the outcome of this training. They are needed at the doctoral level to synthesize and apply the large quantity of complex information generated by ongoing agricultural research. To help satisfy this need, we will provide broad interdisciplinary training in plant health management and specialized training in safe food production. The graduate's will contribute expertise in the targeted shortage area of "Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems" and also training in assurance of food safety as it pertains to crop production. This shortage will be exacerbated within the next 5-10 years by retirement of the majority of practicing crop advisors, leaving with them their expertise in sustainable and safe crop production. While graduate training in individual agricultural science disciplines has been well established in the U.S., there are few programs that integrate the application of these disciplines to train crop advisors. The NNF graduates will be plant health practitioners who can diagnose problems caused by pathogens, pests and physiological deficiencies. In addition to diagnosis, they will be able to prescribe measures to mitigate the problems and maintain healthy plants. They will gain knowledge through internships and electives that will enable them to contribute in a variety of social contexts, e.g., crop production and safety, organic farming, crop consulting, conservation programs, regulatory activities, etc. The educational learning outcomes for NNF graduates will be evaluated by their interdisciplinary Supervisory Committees, including their mastery of the intricacies of plant health. To provide this critical integration, this project will educate and train practitioners able to protect the U.S. food supply and its natural plant resources in a globally oriented and technologically advanced world economy.
Project Methods
The NNF fellows will attain the Doctor of Plant Medicine (D.P.M.) degree offered as one of 18 areas of study at the University of Florida, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). Interdisciplinary programs, such as the Plant Medicine Program established in 1999, provide the students with an excellent combination of educational options over a 3- to4-year period. This degree is analogous to professional doctoral degrees in animal and human medicine, the D.V.M. and M.D. degrees, respectively. The goal is to train plant health practitioners in the prevention, diagnosis, and sustainable management of all types of plant health problems for agricultural clientele. This critical problem-solving expertise is acquired through multidisciplinary coursework and internships. Students study the full range of plant problems through on campus instruction and internships with the program's faculty and through off campus internships with industry, government, UF/IFAS Research and Education Centers, other universities and internationally with relevant personnel and organizations. Emphasis is placed on sustainable and safe food production. DPM Students must accumulate 120 graduate credit hours (90 in classroom courses and 30 in internships) encompassing all relevant agricultural science disciplines. These internship requirements are fulfilled by working with faculty who supervise the soil testing, insect identification, plant disease diagnosis, nematode assay clinics, and summer weed science training program. Elective multidisciplinary internships in plant/crop problem diagnosis and management totaling 15-16 credit hours are completed with crop consultants, Extension specialists, research scientists and state and federal regulatory personnel in Florida, the U.S., and internationally. The NNF fellows will receive specialized training in food safety practices in crop production, in addition to crop production and pest management. They need this knowledge to contribute professionally in the area of sustainable crop production and food safety. Fellows also will be encouraged to take courses related to social-ecological science offered by the UF certificate program in Environmental Policy and Management. These courses will be supplemented by numerous seminars available at UF on social-ecological topics. A major role of the graduate advisors is to make sure students understand the social-ecological context of their education and subsequent employment. Each DPM students is mentored by a three-member Supervisory Committee that must consist of a plant, soil or weed scientist, an entomologist and a plant pathologist who are members of the UF Graduate Faculty. In addition, students have the option of adding individuals to their committees from industry, governmental agencies and other universities as special members. These committee members guide the student's choice of elective courses and internships, test their plant problem solving skills on a regular basis and through final oral exam and help to identify employment opportunities for them.

Progress 01/01/14 to 12/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The three USDA, NNF recepients completed their training during 2013.

Publications


    Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/14

    Outputs
    Target Audience: The project addressed the targeted expertise shortage area of Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems. The primary goal of the project was to increase the number of crop advisors in both the public and private sector in order to enhance the sustainability of the nation's food production through multidisciplinary, doctoral plant health management practicioners. Changes/Problems: The project is administered by me as the UF, DPM Director, and several major changes occurred throughout the project.Dr. Robert McGovern initially developed and conceived the project.The USDA-NNF recipients were selected under Dr. McGovern's leadership.Dr. McGovern resigned during 2011.The project was then changed to the supervision of Interim DPM DirectorDr. Gary Leibee during the Fall Semester of 2011.I was appointed as the DPM Director during August of 2012.The change of PI for the project occuring from Dr. Leibee to me during the Fall Semester of 2012. I communicated with Dr. Leibee during the transition.Dr. Leibee had been in communication with Dr. McGovern.However, I was not in communication with Dr. McGovern. As I began communication with the USDA-NNF recipients, all were past the midpoint of his/her UF, DPM Program. The excessive change in PI leadership for the project could have resulted in miscommunications regarding final reporting periods.Also, the USDA-NIFA transitioned to the REEport system during this transitional period for the project and the UF, DPM Program. Overall project objectives were met with the exception of a focus on historically underrepresented minorities and direclty producting three crop consultants. The selection process for USDA-NNF recipients was rigorous and several students were considered.The best applicants with a clear interest in sustainable food and agricultura systems were selected, and at least 33% of the doctoral USDA-NNF recipients in the UF,DPM Program represented historically underrepresented sectors. Although all students were interested in the crop consultant profession during the application process, students may choose other related fields upon graduation. One of the graduates, Dr. Bonnie Wells was briefly employed as a private sector crop consultant prior to accepting employment with UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension. With our current available data, 67% of our USDA-NNF recipients are currently employed actively contributing to American agriculture in the workforce. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? USDA-NNF recipients had the opportunity to attend variousprofessional development conferences such as the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC) meeting during 2013 and the Annual UF/IFAS Florida Small Farms and Alternative Interprises Conference. Prior ot her graduation from the UF, DPM Program, Dr. Wells also was involved in the development and delivery of cooperative extension material to producers. Dr. Tompkins worked closely with faculty from one of our Rearch and Education Centers in strawberry and tomato production projects prior to graduation. Dr. Lester also had several exciting opportunities for professional development prior to graduation, and in addition to his food safety specialization, he gained knowledge and expertise in ornamental production through an internship with one of our Research and Education Center facullty. The infusion of National Needs Fellows focused on food and agricultural systems into the DPM Program has resulted in increased participation from the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department. Specifically, Dr. Keith Schneider has served on numerous DPM student committees and is a key student source for food safety expertise. Dr. Schneider currently serves as a vital and active member of the DPM Faculty Advisory Committee. Beyond the direct value to Fellow recipients, several DPM students have embraced the pursuit of a more focued educational effort towards food sustainability and safety. The success of integrating increased opportunities for food sustainability and safety into the curriculum of our Fellows may provide the foundational information needed for a more formal UF, DPM-specific specialization track in food sustainability and and safety. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The UF, DPM Program is currently finalizing a 2014 report for stakeholders. The process of providing an annual report to stakeholders began during 2013, and the final report for 2014 will be available by the end of February 2015. Annual reports are currenlty provided to the DPM Faculty Advisory Committee and the DPM Extension Advisory Committee through e-mail communications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Objective 1 was acheived by the successful graduation of the following three USDA-NNF recipients in the University of Florida, Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) Program: •Bonnie Wells, Fall 2013 •William Lester, Spring 2013 •Daniel Tompkins, Summer 2013 2. Objective 2 was acheived by providing three highly trained new interdisciplinary plant health professional graduates to the workforce. 3. The number of graduate degrees awarded in the food and agricultural sciences (Objective 3) was increased directly by three. Indirectly, additional high quality applicants interested in the interdisciplinary agricultural sciences were recruited to the DPM Program due to the availability of competitive USDA-NNF positions. 4. Increasing the number of outstanding graduates was achieved; however, only 33% of the graduates from this award represented traditionally underrepresented groups. 5. As all graduates successfully completed a rigorous interdisciplinary doctorate program with an emphasis on sustainable food and agricultural systems and safety, the core competencies identified as emerging needs for National Needs Fellows were clearly addressed.

    Publications


      Progress 01/01/13 to 12/31/13

      Outputs
      Target Audience: Three interdisciplinary doctoral students selected as USDA, NNF recepients during 2011 graduated during 2013. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? USDA, NNF recepients has opportunities to attend professional development conferences and interact with DPM-affiliated course instructors and faculty mentors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? Three USDA, NNF recepients continued their interdisciplinary doctoral (DPM) training program focused on sustainable food and agricultural systems and food production and safety. All students graduated during 2013.

      Publications


        Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

        Outputs
        Target Audience: The three interdisciplinary doctoral students selected as USDA, NNF recepients during 2011 continued to be reached during the 2012 project: 1. Bonnie Wells 2. William Lester 3. Daniel Tompkins Changes/Problems: During August of 2012, Dr. Amanda Hodges was appointed as the DPM Program Director. As the USDA-NNF project was associated specifically with the DPM Director, a change of PI request was submitted to NIFA. The Interim DPM Program Director, Dr. Gary Leibee and the new DPM Program Director Dr. Amanda Hodges provided as much continuity in the project transition as possible. However, as Dr. Amanda Hodges was not involved in the original USDA-NNF project or the selection of recepients, some lack of continuity did occur. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? USDA, NNF recepients had opportunities to attend professional development conferences and interact with DPM-affiliated course instructors and faculty mentors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? USDA, NNF recepients continue to receive interdisciplinary doctoral (DPM) training in sustainable food and agricultural systems until graduation.

        Impacts
        What was accomplished under these goals? Three USDA, NNF recepients continued their interdisciplinary doctoral (DPM) training program focused on sustainable food and agricultural systems and food production and safety.

        Publications


          Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

          Outputs
          Target Audience: The project objectives focused on training three interdisciplinary DPM doctoral students in the area of food and agricultural sciences in order to address anticipated workforce shortages. Specifically, the educational program of the USDA, National Needs Fellows focused on a specialty in "Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems." As a female in the agricultural sciences, Ms. Bonnie Wells also represented a traditionally underrepresented group. Three interdisciplinary doctoral DPM students were competetively selected as recepients of this prestigious fellowship- 1. Bonnie Wells 2. William Lester 3. Daniel Tompkins Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Throughout the course of the year, USDA-NNF recepients had the opportunity to participate in various conference and events to further support their professional development. Interactions with affiliated DPM Program instructors and faculty were the primary method of professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The educational and professional development training for the USDA, NNF recepients is a process that continues over several years as the DPM degree is doctoral-level.

          Impacts
          What was accomplished under these goals? Three interdisciplinary doctoral (DPM) USDA, National Needs Fellowships were awarded to the following individuals- 1. Bonnie Wells 2. William Lester 3. Daniel Tompkins As a female in the agricultural sciences, Ms. Bonnie Wells represented a traditionally underrepresented group. Each student had a group of courses and internships plannned within his/her Program of Study that focused on the need for "Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems."

          Publications


            Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

            Outputs
            During the past year the three USDA/NIFA/NNF fellows on this project accomplished the following: 1. Formed and met with their Supervisory Committees which consists of an Entomologist, Plant Pathologist, Plant Scientist, Food Safety Specialist and Crop Consultant. The S/C guides the Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) student in selection of elective courses and internships and career development. 2. Developed their programs of study which fulfill the multidisciplinary core courses and internships of the DPM degree as well as elective courses and internships that address crop consulting and safe, sustainable food production. 3. Completed the following courses: Agriculture and Environmental, Agricultural and Natural Resource Issues, Environmental Crop Nutrition, Food Safety and Sanitation, Nematology, Plant Virology, Postharvest Horticulture 4. Completed the following internships/projects: Crop Consulting Internship CAFO regulations and Sweet Corn grower/packer in New York; a project on ethylene and carbon dioxide production by fresh harvest pitaya fruit. This research used different types of lab equipment to measure ethylene production by the fruit to learn about its effect on postharvest shelf life of the fruit. 5. Other activities: Engaged in tours and discussion of food safety at numerous packing house operations in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts including the terminal market New England Produce Center. attended Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit International Convention and Exposition in Orlando. Workshops attended included The Truth About Pesticides: panel discussion, Research to Real-World: The Best in Food Safety Innovations and Food Safety Solutions Center and met with various attendees to get updates on the latest food safety technology. PRODUCTS: NA OUTCOMES: The three fellows on this project are making excellent progress in aquiring expertise in crop consulting and food safety as it applies to sustainable food production. DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES: Information on thsi project is disseminated through the University of Floroda-IFAS, Plant Medicine Program: http://dpm.ifas.ufl.edu/NNF/nnf_index.shtml FUTURE INITIATIVES: The three fellows will continue to complete their required and elective coursework and internships through the guidance of their supervisory committees.

            Impacts
            Three future crop consultants are being trained who will be of service to agriculture in the U.S. in the areas of safe and sustainable food production.

            Publications

            • None during 2010