Tracking funding, staffing unique programs and enrollment changes at schools
Ag college enrollment supported by job market
Students can study a variety of agricultural fields at the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Photo courtesy University of Missouri
A strong agricultural jobs market is supporting enrollment at university ag schools. University officials say students see a lot of opportunity in the career field, as well as steady need for what agriculture produces. Also, ag colleges offer students a wide variety of majors to consider.
Bryan Garton is the senior associate dean for academic programs at the University of Missouri. He says ag schools cover a wide range of fields of study, including MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Popping popcorn might not be the first thing that comes to mind in teaching genetics or genomics.
But it makes perfect sense for University of Illinois creative genetics professor Anthony Studer. He has built upon the simple idea with a full-fledged popcorn curriculum.
University of Illinois professor Anthony Studer teaches children about corn genetics as part of an outreach program. He asks them to strike a pose of a corn plant.
Ag schools in the Corn Belt are holding their own, for the most part. But some are doing better than others.
Colleges tasked with educating the next crop of farm specialists stay afloat through a complex funding formula that includes numerous sources. Juggling the revenue stream is a full-time job.
In the past year, there were 145 openings for ag teachers in Illinois, but as the year started they fell 25-30 teachers short. According to the University of Nebraska, there were 70 open positions statewide in May.
One reason Lisa Oellerich gave for the shortage is the versatility of what agriculture educators know and are able to teach. Oellerich, an ag instructor and FFA advisor at Scales Mound Community School District in Illinois and a past president of Illinois’ NAAE State Agricultural Education Association, said when an industrial arts or food science position opens, teachers who are qualified for agriculture are hired to fill those.
