In all my years of being involved with agriculture as a producer, researcher and educator I have never seen a time so positive for the industry overall. Daily, some aspect of agriculture (broadly defined) is brought to the forefront -- slow food, fast food, no food, superfoods, biofuels, consumer supported agriculture, urban agriculture, sustainable agriculture, industrial agriculture, GMOs, feeding the world, and the list goes on. Along with the attention to agriculture comes, the careers in agriculture which are a bright spot when so many industries seem to be losing jobs. But these jobs or careers in agriculture need more highly qualified individuals to fill the needs of agriculture changed and created by technology. AgCareers.com, an AgrowKnowledge partner, lists over 3000 jobs on their website each month (see www.AgCareers.com). To prepare individuals for now and the future we need to "raise the bar" in agriculture. This is where AgrowKnowledge and the newly formed partnership with the National Postsecondary Agricultural Students (PAS) come into play (www.nationalpas.org).
AgrowKnowledge (www.agrowknow.org) was formed by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technical Education (ATE) section in 2001. Its purpose is to grow educational and business partnerships that strengthen math, science and technology skills of college agriculture students responsive to agriculture industry employment opportunities.
Then recently, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) released a report on "Expanding Career Readiness through Career and Technical Student Organizations" (CTSOs). PAS is one of only 11 CTSOs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The report identifies four areas where CTSOs excel in career readiness: (1) academic skills; (2) employability skills; (3) technical skills and (4) educational attainment. (See www.acteonline.org/content.aspx?id=16408).
Now is the time for agriculture and the future of agriculture is now. AgrowKnowledge and PAS must recognize that the time is right and act on their potential for preparing students for the new and changing workforce of agriculture. Opportunity is now here.
Rick Parker, PhD
AgrowKnowledge PI/Director & PAS Executive Director
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