Precision Technologies: Integrating Agriculture and Geo-Sciences

This project will respond to the needs of agricultural and green industries for more precision technicians. Precision technologies are employed by growers across the U.S. to increase crop yield, reduce production costs and minimize negative impacts to the environment. Precision technologies are used not only in production agriculture but by a vast number of agricultural and green industries including organic farming, nurseries and sports turf management. With the increasing use of technology, there is a need for more technicians to install, repair and maintain the new technological equipment. Through the Precision Agriculture Program, Clark State Community College will partner with leaders in the precision agriculture industry and educational institutions to increase the number of students pursuing degrees in precision agriculture and in turn will support the needs of farmers and other green industries utilizing this emerging technology. 

Clark State Community College will integrate precision agriculture and the geo-sciences by working with leaders in the precision agriculture industry and other educational institutions to (1) grow the pipeline of Precision Agriculture students through targeted recruitment; (2) increase retention by expanding career and transfer options for precision agriculture students and (3) address the rapidly changing applications of precision technologies and prepare faculty to respond to ongoing changes in industry needs. The curriculum and knowledge developed through this proposal will be shared with other community colleges and universities through the NSF ATE National GEOTech Center website; through presentations at regional and national conferences; and through in-person faculty exchanges.Jobs in precision agriculture require a unique combination of technical and agricultural expertise that is not widely available for high school and college students. Due to the highly technical nature of precision agriculture jobs, the curriculum in the field is often outdated and does not fully prepare students for available positions. Enhancing precision agriculture curriculum for two-year colleges and connecting this curriculum with high schools and four-year colleges will dramatically improve the preparedness of technicians in a number of agricultural sectors. It will utilize the existing precision agriculture curriculum as the foundation for an enhanced program including a more comprehensive associate degree, updated articulation agreements, and the development of dual-enrollment content for area high schools. These components will create a 2+2+2 structure that will be replicable in other regions and sustainable. The project will utilize emerging technologies in conjunction with agronomy to enhance precision agriculture education and will be developed in close partnership with local and regional employers. A formative and summative evaluation process will be employed to continuously enhance the project activities and provide opportunities for researching and evaluating the success of the project and deliverables.