Source: SUNY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY submitted to
SUNY COBLESKILL FOOD SYSTEMS CURRICULA
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0230892
Grant No.
2012-70001-20133
Project No.
NYW-2012-03736
Proposal No.
2012-03736
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
NLGCA
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2012
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2015
Grant Year
2012
Project Director
Evans, J.
Recipient Organization
SUNY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY
STATE ROUTE 7
COBLESKILL,NY 12043
Performing Department
Agriculture and Food Management
Non Technical Summary
The forces that have resurfaced the landscape of the overall economy in recent years have undoubtedly impacted the nature and needs of the agricultural complex and the larger food system. Actors in the food system are now more than ever called upon to respond to concerns over environmental degradation, food safety, resource scarcity and national security. All of these concerns, among others, have manifested in changes in consumer preferences for food and food production processes. It is also clear that American agricultural producers will, quite simply, be asked to produce more of everything. As many engaged in the production of food commodities can attest, the demands of an increasingly open and wealthy world economy mean economic opportunity but also new pressures for efficiency and productivity. Industries already characterized by complex supply chains that are not well coordinated will undoubtedly become even more complicated and will require creation of novel product and service offerings delivered through new value chain paradigms The agricultural education system will play an increasingly crucial role in promoting broad-based economic growth and shepherding necessary food system adaptation by producing a well-trained workforce that can address mounting complexities with innovation. Food systems education is, by its nature, multidisciplinary since the path of raw commodities from field to end-user intersects with our stock of natural resources, policy making and public health. The design and implementation of a food system surely impacts diet, risk of food borne illness, economic development, business viability, air and water quality and the capacity of resources to feed and fuel growing populations. The nation's agricultural and technical colleges must design and offer curricula that yield systems-minded, well-rounded professionals prepared for the demands of a globally critical and ever more dynamic food economy. To that end, faculty, staff and administrators at the State University of New York's College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill) have engaged in an institutional reprioritization process that will drastically increase the College's resource commitment to programs in agricultural production, technology and management. In the current proposal, we seek to design and implement a Bachelors of Technology degree program in Food Systems and Technology at SUNY Cobleskill. The proposed curriculum will prepare baccalaureate students to successfully contribute to the "creative economy" and be leaders in the development of solutions to globally-important problems. Further, outreach programming based loosely upon courses developed for the aforementioned baccalaureate program will be designed for delivery to professional audiences with the objective of improving food business managerial acumen and contributing to enhanced profitability in the geographic region. Grant funds will be used to support SUNY Cobleskill faculty from a variety of disciplines in designing and piloting educational and outreach programming and building critical partnerships with industry stakeholders.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
100%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5025010310015%
5026030310015%
6025010310015%
6026030310015%
6045010310025%
6046030310015%
Goals / Objectives
The proposed project is comprised of both Educational and Outreach components designed to enhance food systems education and food business managerial acumen in New York State. Specifically, we seek to design and implement a Bachelors of Technology degree program in Food Systems and Technology at SUNY Cobleskill and a related sequence of extended learning courses offered to the region's agricultural producers. The curriculum will be characterized by interdisciplinary breath, systems thinking, experiential learning, versatility and responsiveness to demand from the local, regional and national economies. Development of this curriculum will ultimately lead to expanded career opportunities for our undergraduate students and will serve as a promotional centerpiece for the institution. To ensure that the curriculum develops over time to best serve students and meet the demands of the local, regional and national food systems, critical feedback from a formal advisory committee comprised of these industry partners and others will continually be integrated into the experiences offered through the program. After a two-year development and piloting phase, the new degree program and related outreach programming will be marketed through a variety of means. Throughout the process and as part of ongoing campus improvements, capital investments in dairy processing equipment and a SUNY Cobleskill retail facility will be made to create valuable experiential learning opportunities in food systems. The measurable impacts of creating a baccalaureate degree program in Food Systems & Technology include student enrollment in the program, a notable increase in the number of mutually beneficial industry relationships for SUNY Cobleskill, enhanced economic viability of agricultural producers and other food-related businesses throughout the geographic region and improved employment outcomes for students that can be measured both quantitatively and qualitatively. Portions of the Food Systems curriculum will be adapted for use in extended learning program applications for regional professionals engaged in food and agricultural production. Courses will specifically cover management strategies for value-added food production. Dairy processing and commercial kitchen facilities on campus will be used to teach the fundamentals of product development, budgeting, marketing and market panel assessment. Multicultural workforce programming including industry-specific Spanish language training will be designed as a component of these outreach offerings. Further, a "Food Systems Regulation" undergraduate course being designed as part of the proposed degree program will be modified for a professional audience and included in the extended learning programming. The overall impact of providing food systems programming for professional audiences will be measured, first, by program enrollment. Second, program participants will be asked to report on management changes, new products or enhanced marketing opportunities that result from the skills learned so that accurate measures of the program's economic impact on the regional food system can be obtained.
Project Methods
The curricular program development and piloting tasks for the Education and Outreach Program Categories will take place over the course of two years and will be overseen by the Principal Investigator. All participating faculty from Agricultural Business, Culinary Arts, Foreign Language and Agricultural Engineering will be provided summer or regular semester support through grant funds to collaboratively source and develop course material and to forge requisite relationships with industry partners. Most new courses developed in project year one for the baccalaureate Food Systems program will be piloted in project year two as elective courses open to all undergraduate majors. The remaining will be piloted in project year three after improvements to campus facilities are completed, including installation of in-hand dairy processing equipment, acquisition and installation of cheese making equipment and refurbishment of an existing campus facility to serve as SUNY Cobleskill retail space. During year two, all necessary approval from the State University of New York's central administration will be secured so that the inaugural semester of the formal degree program can occur in the fall semester of project year three. For the Outreach Program Category, programming materials will be developed by faculty from the aforementioned disciplines during project year two and the resulting extended learning courses will be piloted free-of-charge in project year three. Feedback from participating professionals will be integrated into program offerings thereafter so that the final fee-based outreach services can be launched in the following year. Dr. Anne Rogan will serve as Internal Project Evaluator and Dr. Amy Guptill, a food systems expert, will serve as the project's External Evaluator. Evaluators will be charged with assessing formal student and outreach participant evaluations and regularly delivering evaluation findings to participating faculty. Further, an advisory committee made up of industry partners and other stakeholders will be formed during project year one and will formally convene for regular planning and development meetings beginning in the summer of year one. Throughout the three-year life of the project and beyond, the committee's role will be to ensure that the degree program in Food Systems and Technology and the outreach programming are truly serving the needs of the marketplace and conforming to the strategic plan of the College. Beginning in project year three, marketing efforts for both the Education and Outreach Program Category initiatives will commence and consist of development of web-based and hard copy materials, professionally-produced digital video for use as internet and television media and launching of a Food Systems Speaker Series. The Speaker Series will comprise three to five acclaimed food professionals scheduled during project year three to give on-campus presentations of their perspectives on current and future global food system challenges.

Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:As part of this project, twelve new courses in Agricultural Business Management, Culinary Arts, Agricultural Engineering and Dairy Science were developed and piloted, all ultimatley to be included as major requirements in the Food Systems and Technology baccalaureate program at SUNY Cobleskill. Courses include: Value-Added Production & Marketing (lecture and lab); Food System Regulation (lecture); Intro to Food Systems (lecture); Applied Food Science I (lecture and lab); Applied Food Science II (lecture & lab); Dairy Processing Technology (lecture and lab); Food Processing Tech (lecture and lab). Development work for all courses included identifcation of existing relevant course materials, writing and organization of novel materials, course schedule design and identifcation of external industry partners to serve as external course laboratories. Further, the USDA/NIFA grant was used as leverage to successfully apply for funds from the Appalachian Regional Commission, NY Empire State Development, NY State Assembly, the State University of NewYork and private donors ($1.4 million leveraged total)to initiate and complete capital projects on campus that will support the Food Systems & Technology degree program (an agricultural retail facility and dairy processing facility). Preliminary degree marketing efforts, targeted to existing SUNY Cobleskill students, prospective SUNY Cobleskill students attending SUNY Cobleskill "open house" events and high school students within the Northeast region have begun and the Food Systems & Technology baccalaureate degree program will officially launch for the Fall, 2016 semester. The extensive SUNY system and State Department of Eduaction has successfully completed. Ultimately, the audience for the Food Systems & Technology degree program will not only include undergraduate students but also industry professionals throughout the region who will partner with program students on product development, marketing and retail pilot projects. Further, three continuing eduaction courses in "Spanish for Industry", "Value Added Marketing" and "Food System Regulation" were developed as a direct result of this award and they will be offered online starting in January, 2016 to a wide variety of end-users including farm and food entreprenuers from throughout the Northeast. Changes/Problems:This project has benefitted SUNY Cobleskill and the students and producer communities it serves in ways that were not envisioned when it was first developed. It has facilitated development of additional baccalaureate programs; it has leveraged capital funding; it has catalyzed new relationships with farm and food professionals; and it was the primary justification for successful pursuit of a grant opportunity that will culminate in development of the "Farm and Food Business Incubator" at SUNY Cobleskill. The only setback experienced in project implementation was delay in formal program registration caused by delay in off-campus approval processes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The USDA/NIFA project provided direct support for development of three certificate-bearing online extended learning courses, offered through the Office of Professional and Continuing Education at SUNY Cobleskill. Further, the USDA/NIFA award was used as leverage for $1.4 in capital funding two develop an agricultural retail facility and a dairy processing facility, both of which will be used as "Farm and Food Business Incubator" spaces. Specifically, dairy producers will be able to utilize processing facility equipment for small-batch production of their cheese, ice cream and yogurt products and will receive business plan development, product development and marketing strategy assistance from Incubator staff and students. Producers collaborating with students in the Food Systems & Technology baccalaureate program to develop novel value-added food products will have the opportunity to pilot those products in the forthcoming agricultural retail facility where students will conduct a variety of market research techniques on the producers' behalf. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The availability of extended learning courses has been promoted and promotional materials for the baccalaureate degree program in Food Systems & Technology at SUNY Cobleskill have been developed and disseminated. 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 major goals for this project described above have all been accomplished. Specifically: Development and pilotof all new courses required for launch of the Food Systems & Technology baccalaureate degree program is complete. The degree program is now officially a registered program at SUNY Cobleskill and will be open for admission Fall, 2016. Note: Program registration is one academic year behind the original schedule developeed in the project proposal. This is due to approval delays at SUNY and the State Department of Education that were not under SUNY Cobleskill's control. Development of this program has spurred developed of two additional baccalaureate programs at SUNY Cobleskill in Fermentation Science and Canine Studies, both of which are targted for launch in 2017. These programs will undoutedly enhance the appeal of agricultural programming at the College and will ensure enrollment growth into the future. An external advisory committee to guide development and ultimatley implementation of the degree program was developed and convened several times over the course of the grant project. These advisory committee meetings led to several important enhancements to the degree program's design and will lay foundation for a number of food systerm internship opporunities for program students. Outreach/extended learning programming in Food System Regulation, Value Added Marketing and Spanish for Industry was developed for launch as online certificate-bearing courses in January, 2016. Marketing for these programs has begun through SUNY Cobleskill's Office of Professional and Continuing Education These programs are in high demand and will translate to enhanced producer viability throughout the Northeast. Promotional materials for the forthcoming Food Systems & Technology baccalaureate degree program have been developed and are now being utilized at SUNY Cobleskill Open House and Admissions events. The USDA/NIFA award was used as leverage to secure $1.4 million in additional state, federal and private funding that is currently being used to complete two major capital projects on campus: a dairy processing facility and an agricultural retail facility. Both will enhance the experiential learning aspects of the Food Systems & Technology degree program and will contribute significantly to SUNY Cobleskill's standing as a premier college of agriculture. Relationships with a number of food industry professionals have been forged as a result of this project. Negotiations toward an "Institute for Excellence in Food Manufacturing" atSUNY Cobleskillare ongoing and are attributable to the work permitted by the USDA/NIFA grant.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

    Outputs
    Target Audience: During Grant Year I, the project team fully developed four novel undergraduate courses in Food System Regulation, Applied Food Science, Food Processing Technology and Value Added Production & Marketing that will ultimately comprise cores of the forthcoming Bachelors of Technology degree program in Food Systems & Technology at the State University of New York's College of Agriculture and Technology, Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill). Development work for all courses included identifcation of existingrelevant course materials, writing and organization ofnovel materials, course schedule design and identifcation of external industry partners to serve as external course laboratories. Further, PI Evans completed grant proposals to the Appalachian Regional Commission and to the State University of New York (State of New York) that will leverage NIFA funds to initiate capital projects on campus (agricultural retail facility and dairy processing facility) in support of the forthcoming degree program (one of the aforementioned grants was awarded; the other is in review). Preliminary degree marketing efforts, targeted to existing SUNY Cobleskill students, prospective SUNY Cobleskill students attending SUNY Cobleskill "open house" events and high school students within the Northeast region have begun. Ultimately, the audience for the Food Systems & Technology degree program will not only include undergraduate students but also industry professionals throughout the region who will partner with program students on product development, marketing and retail pilot projects. Changes/Problems: No major challenges have been encountered to this point. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Principal Investigator Evans and other project team members (faculty) have conducted several on-campus meetings during Grant Year I with food system professionals in an effort to make all forthcoming program courses responsive to market demands and relevant to current employer needs in the system. These meetings have proved valuable opportunities for the project team to learn about modern technologies and management strategies critical to the modern food system. Further, PI Evans and other team members attended two culinary-focused conferences in Fall, 2013 (the James Beard Food Conference in NYC and the Basque Culinary Council's International Advisory Board Meeting in Sleepy Hollow, NY) for insight into contemporary issues in food culture and food establsihment management. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? As stated above, the courses developed in Grant Year I for the Food Systems & Technology degree program will be piloted in Spring, 2014 and as of November 20, 2013, all courses have achieved maximum enrollment. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In Grant Year II, all additional novel courses proposed for the Food Systems & Technology degree program will be developed along with three industry-relevant extermal for-fee programs (to be developed Summer, 2014) focused on Spanish language training for agricultural/food system professionals, Food System Regulation training and Value-Added Product Marketing training. Further, additional funds from other grating agencies(and privatesponsors) will be sought to complete renovation of theagriculturalretail facility and the dairy processing infrastructure. In January, 2014, allinternal application materials for launch of the Food Systems & Technology degree program at SUNY Cobleskill will be submitted to the College's Curriculum Committee. At the same time,application materials to be submitted to NY State will also be completed and forwarded toSUNY and the State Department of Education.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? In Grant Year I, the following Food Systems & Technology degree program courses were developed: AGBU 399: Food System Regulation AGBU 299 & 299X: Value Added Production & Marketing (plus Lab) CAHT 399 & 399X: Applied Food Science (plus Lab) AGEN 299 & 299X: Food Processing Technology (plus Lab) These courses will all be piloted as "experimental" courses in the Spring, 2014 academic semester. Development thereof included identifcation and creation of course material, design of course outlines, identification of external industry partners to utilize as course laboratories/field trips/guest speakers and marketing of pilot courses to existing students. Further, four members of a six-member industry advisory committee have been secured and include a food marketing specialist, a food product developer, a restaurateur and a food advocacy association representative. Remaining industry advisory committee members will be identified in December, 2013 and the initial advisory committee meeting will be held in January, 2014. A consultant to assist with development of dairy processing capacity and the related dairy processing course has been identified (consultant's plan of work currently being reviewed by USDA). Project team members have also forged a relationship with Cornell Cooperative Extension and professionals from Cornell's plant breeding program that will facilitate critical food product development laboratory projects for students in the forthcoming degree program. In Summer, 2013, two additional grant proposals were writted by PI Evans that will ultimately leverage NIFA funds to develop critical on-campus physical infrastructure that will serve the Food Systems & Technology degree program and the forthcoming related external programming. Specifically, proposals were prepared for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant initiative and the State University of New York (SUNY) High-Needs Program Initiative. The SUNY grant has been awarded to SUNY Cobleskill while the ARC proposal is in review. Together, these awards will fund refurbishment of an existing historical building on campus to become an agricultural retail facility to be managed by program students. College-produced products and value-added food products developed by program students in partnership with regional agricultural producers will be sold through the facility and students will have the opportunity to conduct market research initiatives through the facility year-round. This capital project is currently in the designphase with an architectural firm. Finally, funding sources to support development of dairy processing infrastructure on campus are being sought. The degree program is slated for full launch in Fall, 2015 and marketing efforts have already begun through on-campus prospective student events and existing College relationships with high school guidance counselors and instructors throughout the Northeast.

    Publications