Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The U.S. is currently facing a substantial shortfall of talented workforce in the food, agriculture, and natural resources sectors in the near future. Demand for a diverse talented workforce further strains the supply of next generation agriculture workforce. Motivating young, talented minority students to join the workforce in agriculture is pivotal to maintain the competitiveness of U.S. food and agricultural industry and its sustainability. In response, a consortium of highly qualified professionals from two 1890 HBCUs and two 1862 universities including one Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) will be formed to directly address the agricultural workforce shortage. Significantly, the consortium includes the only two HBCUs in the north central region that would allow us to reach a significant pool of underrepresented populations and agricultural communities. The consortium will focus on training students to address critical challenges in food and agriculture in a scalable and sustainable platform. The new paradigm will unprecedentedly leverage the synergistic capabilities of research, teaching, and extension of multiple institutions to meet future challenges in food security, climate change, environmental justice, and climate smart agriculture. Specific activities for this project include, i) development of cross-institutional emergent online/offline courses, ii) strengthening of immersion experiential learning and outreach activities for both undergraduate and graduate students; iii) exposure to advanced technologies in modern agriculture for high school students; iv) creation of 2-year community college scholarships and research/extension experiences; v) training scientists in residence program for graduate students; and vi) establishing internship program in State and Federal agencies. If successful, this proposed project will substantially contribute to a diverse workforce for food and agriculture industry.
Animal Health Component
5%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Objective 1. Training the next generation agriculture workforce via Student Scholarship Projects (SSP)Objective 2. Training the next generation Ag workforce via Experiential Learning Projects (ELP)Objective 3. Training the next generation Ag workforce via Outreach and Engagement Projects (OEP)
Project Methods
Objective 1. Training the next generation agriculture workforce via Student Scholarship Projects (SSP)Task 1.1 Establish a new collaborative Soil Science and Entomology graduate program.Task 1.2 Establish accelerated agricultural graduate program in 1890 institutions.Task 1.3 Special hybrid course design on precision agriculture and drone application.Task 1.4 GIS themed activity each year focusing on undeclared major undergraduate students.Task 1.5 Summer workshop on regenerative agriculture.Task 1.6 Undergraduate summer research opportunity.Task 1.7 Professional experiential learning with USDA-ARS.Task 1.8 The DIEL day and summer camp for 4H and youth development. .Objective 2. Training the next generation Ag workforce via Experiential Learning Projects (ELP)Task 2.1 Environmental contamination & remediation.Task 2.2 Advanced sensors detection and instrumentations.Task 2.3 Agri-business and Agricultural economics.Task 2.4 Regenerative agriculture.Task 2.5 Hydroclimate observation and monitoring.Task 2.6 Nanoparticles (NPs) application for precision agriculture.Task 2.7 Summer ELP workshops for all levels of learners.Task 2.8 Research symposia.Task 2.9 Leveraging existing outreach programs.Objective 3. Training the next generation Ag workforce via Outreach and Engagement Projects (OEP)Task 3.1 Outreach program and field trips to USDA agencies and ARS stations.Task 3.2 Outreach program for Youth Leadership Preparation.Task 3.3 Experiential learning through field trips and career events.Task 3.4 Create Scholarships for professional meetings.Task 3.5 Visit, shadowing, and internship at USDA research laboratory.Task 3.6 Visit and shadowing agricultural companies.Task 3.7 Annual retreat.Task 3.8 HBCU-HACU-RIU Consortium website.