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Virginia and farming have been linked since the first successful settlement at Jamestown.  The first Virginians only survived because of their successes with tobacco farming and its trade. (McGill, 2017) The continued success of farming in Virginia makes agriculture Virginia’s largest private industry providing nearly $82.3 billion dollars annually (T. J. Rephann 2022; “Agriculture Facts and Figures” 2023).​ 

The USDA Agriculture Census states that as of 2021, Virginia had approximately 41,500 operating farms that cover nearly 7,700,000 acres of land.  A component of the Virginia Western Community College’s (VWCC) service region, Roanoke County, boasts more than 26,000 acres of farmland (USDA, n.d.).A limiting issue in Agriculture is the lack of a well-trained workforce that possesses both traditional agricultural knowledge and modern technology skills.  The farmer of yesterday sharply contrasts with the farmer of today who must integrate ever-changing technology, reflecting the need for a new type of agriculture workforce. VWCC resides in Virginia’s Economic Region 2, a total of 18 counties, where 24.1% of those employed in this field are over the age of 65 and a large turnover is expected (VOEE, 2023).  As a younger generation enters the agricultural workforce, technology will become an essential aspect of their training.

 

 

To identify key skills sought after in today’s Agricultural Technician, a wide overview of the current job field on a national level was analyzed to inform the direction of this project. Data were sourced from a collaboration with the Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE). The VOEE provided multiple job posting lists from Lightcast Q2 2023 data sets, which sourced 400 job postings nationwide with a crossover between Mechatronics, Food Production, and Agriculture between October 2021 and May 2023. Results listed in the word cloud (Figure 1) are based on Virginia Western’s analysis of the data. This analysis both supports and guides the project goals of developing an Agricultural Technician with applicable skills to both agriculture and mechatronics.

The Cross-Pollination Strategy

Contact Information

Agricultural Technician Assistant

Cynthia Fairbanks: CFairbanks@virginiawestern.edu

Principal Investigator

David Berry: dberry@virginiawestern.edu

Co-Principal Investigator

Mallory White: MWhite@virginiawestern.edu

 

 

 

 

The National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program has been funding innovation at two-year colleges for over twenty years. With a focus on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy, and strong partnerships between academic institutions and industry, ATE promotes improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels.

To learn more about ATE, please visit the NSF ATE program home page.

Career Quest

In late September, Mallory and Cynthia attended Career Quest Fall 2024.  The event sponsored by the Greater Roanoke Workforce Board is meant to expose 7th and 10th graders to industries in our area. The two-day event normally entertains upwards of 4000 children.  Cynthia and Mallory were able to advertise the new Ag-Tech initiative to over 2000 7th grade students over the two-day event.  This opportunity also allowed multiple connections with high school teachers and tech-ed instructors who are interested in hosting a hydroponics setup from VWCC in their classrooms.  Pictured is Cynthia Fairbanks (Left) and Amy White (Right).

This project aims to serve the national interest by advancing workforce readiness of agricultural technicians. Agriculture is a top economic driver in Virginia. Both the state government and private industry are currently investing in industries focused on hydroponics, precision-agriculture, and controlled-environmental agriculture. This project directly aligns with these initiatives and will develop an agriculture-technology (Ag-Tech) curriculum that teaches skillsets needed by today's technicians. The project will meet the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program mission by highlighting successful members of the STEM workforce from traditionally underserved groups in STEM and merging two traditionally divided areas of study into one career studies certificate. Specifically, this effort seeks to blend the mechatronics discipline with agriculture disciplines. As no Ag-Tech program currently exists within the Virginia Community College system, the project will serve as a model for those seeking to develop one. The project will play an important role in workforce development by maintaining BILT (Business & Industry Leadership Team) partnerships and using industry feedback to grow the novel Ag-Tech program.

The project will advance the understanding of modern mechatronics skills, agricultural knowledge, and leadership skills to grow a regional workforce needed to meet the growing field of precision-agriculture. The goal of this project is to develop a novel Ag-Tech career studies certificate (CSC) that can be completed at the community college in just four semesters. The scope of the project will involve current faculty and staff, industry leaders, high school instructors, and current and future Virginia Western Community College students. The project will advance understanding of mechatronics and agricultural skills needed in an Ag-Tech career through field trips to partnering industries and development of new courses through feedback from current BILT leaders. New courses will include vertical growing, autonomous vehicles, and agricultural leadership. This project will add to the field intellectually through development of a novel Ag-Tech CSC that currently does not exist in the VCCS. With the goal of producing 45 graduates, the project will benefit the local economy of Roanoke by generating $3.3 million in direct, indirect, and induced economic impact over 3 years. Evaluation of the project will be performed twice a year through student, faculty, and industry feedback. Annual evaluation activities will analyze number of participants, retention, and satisfaction with the project to determine future direction if feedback indicates changes are needed. The progress and results of the project will be disseminated through ATE Central, internally in the college, with participants at HI-TEC (High Impact Technology Exchange Conference), and potentially in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Engineering Technology (JET).

Grant Progress Update 11/5/2024

NSF ATE PI Conference in DC

The principal investigators attended the annual PI Conference in October in Washington D.C. Our team prepared a poster for the conversation hub as well as handouts for other interested ATE representatives which prompted multiple interactions with peers in our application space. Pictured is Mallory White (Left) and David Berry (Right).  

Growers Workshop at Crop King in Ohio

David Berry and Mallory White visited Crop King in Lodi, Ohio in September for a three-day Grower’s Workshop.  Crop King is well-known nationally for their hydroponics support systems and greenhouse supplies.  The Grower’s Workshop included in-depth discussions on hydroponics systems and controls as well as greenhouse tours of working system for tomatoes, cucumbers and multiple varieties of lettuce.  The information on plant health, water quality and troubleshooting was excellent and the opportunity to discuss educational curriculum with industry professionals was priceless.

New Hire: Agricultural-Technician Assistant

In early September, the Ag-Tech team welcomed Cynthia Fairbanks to our project.  Cynthia has a passion for agriculture and education and is already contributing to our forward progression.  

 

 

Curriculum

The new Mechatronics Autonomous Vehicle Technician CSC goes into full effect in Spring 2025.  The class requirements can be seen on the mechatronics website at: VWCC Autonomous Vehicles CSC

The Agriculture Career Studies Certificate (CSC) is also progressing nicely.  In the October curriculum meeting, the committee approved the formation of the new Ag CSC. This important decision means the Ag CSC can officially start in the Summer 2025 semester.  The two new courses (AGR 241 and HRT 161) are currently slated to begin in Spring 2026. 

Collaboration with Pod Farms, LLC

In the spirit of collaboration, we have chosen to source some of our hydroponics equipment from a local startup company called Pod Farms, LLC. Pod Farms CEO, Toni Sperry, was recently in the news for being chosen to participate in the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council’s (RBTC) Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP) as an entrepreneur in the pre-accelerator program. https://www.rbtc.tech/ramp/ramp-welcomes-fall-2024-cohorts/.   

The Pod Farms system utilizes a 3D printed stack for vertical growing with removable plant containers for easy attachment to any off-the-shelf 5-gallon bucket.  By using this system in select schools, we hope to show students how design and engineering work together to produce new products that contribute to agriculture.  We are also communicating about how current VWCC Mechatronics students can help refine and alter the designs to aid in mass production as a part of their current curriculum.