Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience reached by our efforts for this program during the reporting period was 42 total students, 3 graduate students and 39 undergraduate students. 42 students completed the Level I part of the program, the course in International Agricultural Management. 17 students participated in the Level II part of the program, with study abroad in either Brazil (9 students), Mexico (3 students) or Guatemala (5 students). 9 students participated in Level III of the program, with internships with FAS (3 students), NRCS (1 students), USDA-APHIS (3 students), and TAMUK Citrus Center (2 students). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The Level I class addressed career development in several of its speaker engagements - with FAS, USAID, and during several of the company speaker presentations (HEB and Dr. Pepper for example). Additionally, inherent in the "live" projects are components of career development and preparedness as students are required to work in cross-cultural teams, work with "live" clients on global consulting projects, research, think critically, solve problems creatively, communicate via weekly written reports and a final presentation to the client, and manage their time and schedules across time zones and cultures, all skills that reinforce professional development and employability. In Level II, many of these skills were further reinforced during business visits and interaction where younger members of companies and organizations discussed their educational and career paths. Additionally, students were able to socialize and interact outside of class (a buddy system), thus developing critical cross-cultural, interpersonal skills in an overseas environment. Finally, in Level III, students worked in paid internships where they were required to participate in the day to day operations of companies and organizations, work in teams, report to supervisors, and solve problems that they had to present to management at the end of their tenures. Of course, these are the skills that employers are looking for when hiring young graduates. Finally, all levels of the Program introduced students to key aspects of agribusiness and marketing - production, distribution, marketing, trade agreements and government regulation, sustainability, and the whole Supply Chain between Texas and LATAM. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dr. Mark Lokensgard attended the annual PI meeting and gave a presentation on the grant model - its 3 Levels. Both Dr. Lokensgard and Professor Jordan have participated in a variety of seminars sponsored by the USDA and related to current USDA grants and research as well as new federal grant opportunities. Professor Jordan and several of his St. Mary's colleagues have published an article in a leading international business journal related to the students' personal, cultural, and professional development during the Level I virtual class. He also attended an international conference in Sao Paulo (IVEC - International Virtual Exchange Conference), where he networked with fellow academic colleagues in LATAM about the Program and its COIL characteristics - Collaborative Online International Learning. Finally, St. Mary's created a robust and informative website for the grant that has been disseminated amongst participants, collaborative partners, and other interested parties/universities - https://www.stmarytx.edu/academics/academic-special-programs/usda-grant/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Overall, the Level I class will be simplified and there will be fewer assignments. For example, in the first part of the class, the speakers will sequence from topics related to production and lead into supply chain management. Additionally, USAID and the other Presenters will dedicate more time discussing internship and career opportunities at their organizations. In the second part of the class, speakers will focus on government agencies, regulation, inspection standards, tariffs and trade agreements, the role of cooperatives, youth development in the ag sector, and food security issues. As part of the Speaker series, one page reflection papers will be the only required assignment for students, but 4 different professors will also start teaching the methodology that will be used for the Projects in the second part of the class. With this in mind, the number of meetings in the second part of the class between students and companies/organizations will go from 7 engagements to 3 - an introductory meeting, a mid-way, check in meeting, and final presentations. During the other sessions, professors, students, and mentors will work more closely on the research and recommendations related to their projects. More hands-on teaching and supervision will be integrated into the projects, and Professors Friend, Elliott, and Jordan are working on a very specific methodology that all of the student teams will follow while working on their agribusiness market expansion projects - it integrates leadership and project management skills with robust research, business modeling, recommendations, and implementation. Like last year, the projects will add real value to the companies/organizations, but this year, they will add even more value and more defined recommendations with a stronger element of surprise in the final presentations. Last year, there was too much contact between students and their companies/organizations leading up to the final presentations. As a final point, there will be 8 teams and 8 projects, and each Professor will supervise and grade 2 teams. 4 mentors from FAS and USAID will also help supervise and direct their projects. This will provide better oversite and quality for the projects by guaranteeing better adherence to the methodology that will be used for the projects. Additionally, mandatory focus groups will be administered at the end of Level I to get immediate feedback on what worked and what didn't for the class. This qualitative data will supplement the pre- and post-quantitative surveys that are also a requirement of the class. This data will then be used to write an article on the results of the Program on personal, cultural, and professional development as well as knowledge and interest in international agriculture. These results and the success of the overall Program might also be presented at the USDA annual conference or another conference that one of the professors attends. Below is a list of project participants/sponsors: Companies/Organizations that will be providing projects: Texas Department of Agriculture FAS - will provide mentors as well as 2 projects USAID - Global Development Labs (pilot program), poster may be presented by students at USAID conference SUSTA Dr. Pepper BRK Meats Brangus Beef PUC-Parana There will also be some changes and improvements to the Level II study abroad part of the class. As was stated before, the Texas A&M Mexico program will no longer be an option, but there are 2 very good options. For Brazil, we hope to increase the number of students from 9 to 18. With budget not utilized from last year for Brazil as well as the reallocation of monies for the Mexico program, each participating university should be able to accept 6 students into the Brazil Program. Although the Brazil Program was very popular and successful in terms of its agenda and content, the professors will make some improvements - for example, less meetings but ones that dive deeper into interactive activities with students and the community, less drive time, more cultural activities with students from PUC-Parana, and 3 days in Rio de Janeiro where students will have a chance to explore the Marvelous City and participate in meetings with the US Embassy and ag-related NGO's that focus on urban farming and social entrepreneurship. Last year, many of the students suggested that we go to Rio de Janeiro, so we have integrated this request into the budget and agenda for the trip. Going to Brazil and not visiting the cultural center of Brazil - Rio de Janeiro - is not such a good idea, and including it should help with recruiting for the Program overall, Brazil Level II, and Dr. Lokensgard's Portuguese class. As a final point on Level II for Brazil, some logistical efficiencies will be made to between PUC-Parana and the Program, and Dr. Diane Friend from Texas A&M/Rellis will be accompanying us on the trip to Brazil. For Level II Guatemala, the number of participating students will be increased from 4 to 12 students. Last year, there was budget for 2 students from each university, but with budget not utilized from last year and monies reallocated from the Mexico program, each participating university should be able to send 4 students to Guatemala for up to 10 days. Discussions and planning with Dr. Jack Elliot have already started, and he plans on having a graduate assistant and on-the-ground coordinator help with this process. He has updated his budget to reflect this support. Additionally, Dr. Consuelo Donato from Texas A&M - Kingsville will help with the planning and will accompany the students on the trip. The content and agenda for the program last year went over well with the students, but the number of meetings and cultural activities will be increased with more time in Antigua and more time in the field with the IAEFP fellows and their communities. There are currently 9 IAEFP Fellows in Guatemala, so students will have a variety of options for community service and even homestays. For both the Brazil and Guatemala programs, payments between institutions and logistical support/payments provided to students will be streamlined and made more efficient. Additionally, the focus of recruiting and planning will be only 2 programs rather than 3. There is a possibility that students who participate in USAID's Global Development Lab (which is part of the Level I projects) will be able to travel to the Amazon River Basin as part of the FORSEE grant with USAID and the US Forest Services. Professor Jordan is currently applying for this grant, and it would pay for up to 12 students to do field work and community service in one of USAID's Brazilian rainforest projects. It is a great interagency opportunity, and we will know if the application is accepted by the end of 2025. For Level III, there will be a bigger push to get more students involved in internships. For example, FAS would like to open up to 6 internships - some virtual and some in person. Each university in the Program has $18k in supplemental funds to help support internships with FAS and other government agencies or public/private organizations, but we hope to get more funding from FAS and other organizations to help pay the salaries and expenses of students. It is anticipated that by engaging different organizations and companies in "live" projects, a handful of internship opportunities will arise. We also plan on spending more time in class educating students about different internship opportunities with the USDA and other federal government agencies. Dr. Consuelo Donato is strong in this area, so we plan on her making a presentation on the details of applying for different ag-related programs. USAID, SUSTA, and PUC-Parana also have internship opportunities that we will advertise as part of their speaking engagements and projects. Last year, 9 students participated in internships, and we would like to double this number in Year 2.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Level I class was developed and delivered in the Spring of 2024. There were over 40 students in the class from all 3 partners plus from PUC-Parana in Curitiba, Brazil. The first part of the class had a series of guest speakers and lectures that focused on international agricultural production, marketing, and logistics. The second part of the class continued the guest speaker series with lectures from FAS, SUSTA, and USAID as well as on the US Farm Bill and sanitation and inspection processes that impact international trade. Additionally, students tackled 4 different projects by solving real world problems with "live" clients - a meat producer, a pecan broker, a cattle breeder, and a citrus producer. Finally, 9 students participated in the Portuguese class and consequently the Brazil Program in May 2024. 10 students also participated in a Case Study Competition - FAS' Market Export Challenge - that was sponsored by FAS and HACU. Overall, the Level I class accomplished its goals. Students improved their skills in key areas - personal development, cultural development, and professional development. In particular, students improved their global awareness and cultural intelligence, knowledge and interest in agribusiness, networking and relationship building, adaptability and ability to work and live overseas, business acumen and employability, and comfort with participating in a virtual, online class and meetings. On the other hand, 1 out of 6 students expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the class and format, and we have already started to address our plans to improve satisfaction and expectations in the Level I class. We address this concern in Question 3 of this Progress Report. Additionally, see the attached USDA Survey Results document for more details on the personal, cultural, and professional development results and student satisfaction/expectations. In the Level II part of the Program, participation was strong for a first year. In Brazil, there were 9 participants and 2 faculty. Students and faculty traveled to Curitiba, Brazil and visited a variety of companies and organizations during the 12 day study abroad program. They also participated in a variety of cultural experiences and were able to practice their Portuguese. About half of the students were able to effectively converse in Portuguese while the other half were a bit timid. Students were also matched with Brazilian students in a buddy system, and St. Mary's signed a new MOU with PUC-Parana to reinforce its relationship with this critical partner. Besides providing students for projects and the buddy system, PUC-Parana helped with lectures, classroom space, and on the ground transportation. Overall, the Program was very popular with the students (based on testimonials and feedback from the students), but we plan on growing the program to 15-18 students in 2025. The Mexico and Guatemala Programs were equally popular and successful, but they had less participants. The Mexico program was only attended by 3 St. Mary's students, but their experience was very productive and valuable. They accompanied nearly 40 students from Texas A&M (multidisciplinary - business, engineering, ag sciences, etc.) and worked in groups while on the ground and after returning from Mexico. These groups addressed various sustainability issues related to a variety of fields and were required to present a poster on their findings and recommendations. The group from St. Mary's was one of the finalists. Unfortunately, this program will not run again as Texas A&M changed the class and program to the Spring of 2025 rather than the Maymester and Summer of 2025. Since the USDA Program starts in January, there is no way to recruit and register students in a timely manner. As for the Guatemala Program, participation was also low - only 4 students - and they were from Texas A&M and Texas A&M - Kingsville. Although attendance was low, student feedback was very strong and a strong foundation for Year 2 was laid. Overall, the financial and logistical support provided to students and faculty was adequate, but some efficiencies need to be implemented on payment processes between universities and with students. Finally, 9 students participated in internships (Level III) with FAS and other ag-related organizations, such as NRCS. The FAS internships were virtual and lasted 8 weeks while the other ones were face to face and lasted 8-10 weeks. There were some logistical glitches with the FAS internships during the onboarding process, but students were able to travel to Washington, D.C. and meet with FAS staff; they were also very satisfied with their work duties, projects, and supervisors. The other students participated in internships sponsored by Texas A&M - Kingsville, and the feedback from these 6 students demonstrates that they were also productive and valuable for both the students and organizations involved. According to feedback from both the students and organizations, students were able to apply what they learned in the Level I class to their internship experiences. Students were given full financial and logistical support for all of the internships - $18K for St. Mary's students, $18K for Texas A&M - Kingsville students, and approximately $9K for Texas A&M - College Station.

Publications