Societal Challenges

•• Population
Population • Health
• Food • Poverty
• Water
• Environment
• Climate Change
• Energy
Feed, shelter, clothe > 9 billion
• Climate change
• Land and water constraints
• Increasing urbanization
• Environmental degradation
• Minimal ecological footprint
• Changing income and diets
• Positive health outcomes
 Path Forward: Discoveries
• Diversity of species • Efficiencies
 50,000 edible; 15-50 used  Feed-to-yield ratio
• Traits  Heat tolerance
 Yield/productivity  Photosynthesis: C3 to C4
 Yield stabilization: GxExM  Cisgenics vs Transgenics
 Pest/disease resistance  Water-use: Crop per Drop
 Nitrogen fixation  Nitrogen-, phosphorus-use
 Genomic selection • Managing pre- and post-
• Systems/Synthetic Biology harvest losses
 Path Forward: Discoveries
• Virtual water and nitrogen • Logistics and mechanization
 True costs? • Pest management
• Transformative approaches • Big data: data.gov/agriculture
 Perennial/multi cropping • Policy research
 Conversion of deserts?
• Research investments
 Algae in oceans?
 Bio-/nano-technology
• Partnerships
 Modern Meadow, Inc.  Governments
o 3-D printing  NGOs
 Beyond Meat, Inc.  Private
 Academic
 Path Forward: Farming systems
• Improved technologies • Resilient intensification
 Productivity gap: 1.52%  Policies and consequences
 Peak farmland – Ausubel et • Vertical farming
al. 2013
• Hydroponics
• Cooperatives – Kibbutz?
• Aquaponics
• Closed loop systems
• Integrated/diversified
• Soil fertility
 Nitrogen, Phosphorus
• Smart farming Fish culture and irrigation
 Robotics, sensors, sentinels ARO, Israel: Harpaz 2012
 Path Forward
Policies/Regulation/Marketing
• Governance
• Socially beneficial policies, programs
• Acceptance of technologies
 Behavior, Choices, Attitudes
 Risk and Change
• Poverty reduction
• Education
• Trade – “glocalization”
• Jobs
• Environmental degradation/conservation
Path Forward: Education

Education Pipeline Domains

• Workforce
• Scientific cadre
• Extension cadre
• Producers
 Workforce Needs
Agriculture, Food Systems,
Science & Engineering Renewable Energy, &
Environment
• Between 2010-2015, 54,400 jobs
in agriculture, food, and natural
resources 27% 15%
11%
• Approximately 53,500 qualified
graduates are available each year 47%
 55% have degrees from colleges of
agriculture and life sciences, forestry
Education,
and natural resources, and veterinary Communication,
medicine & Governmental
Services
 45% come from allied disciplines Management & Business
including biological sciences,
engineering, health sciences, business
and communication Source: USDA
 Workforce Needs

Demographic changes
Global competencies
More international students returning home
Foreign‐born population in US projected to
increase – >40 M in 2010 to >68 M in 2060
 Workforce Needs
• Research
• Multi- and Trans-disciplinary skills
• Application: need workers with skills to
translate/transfer research to the end user

What does this mean as we train new

researchers, extension agents, the
workforce, and agricultural producers?
Path Forward: Back To
The Future?
1862: An Act donating Public Lands to the several
States and Territories which may Provide Colleges for
the Benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts

“…without excluding other scientific and

classical studies and including military
tactic, to teach such branches of learning
as are related to agriculture and the
mechanic arts, in such manner as the
legislatures of the States may respectively
prescribe, in order to promote the liberal
and practical education… .”
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=012/llsl012.db&recNum=534
 1893: Committee of Ten – National Education
Association meeting in Saratoga, NY

“… science should be based on direct experience with the

physical world rather than the words of teachers or
textbooks. … recommended teachers guide students’
thinking and … . … one week be set aside for laboratory
instruction and one afternoon per week be set aside for
out-of-door instruction.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_of_Ten#cite_ref-4
 1983: A Nation at Risk
"Our nation is at risk...the educational foundations of our
society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of
mediocrity that threatens our very future … .”

Recommendations: … increase graduation requirements in

english, mathematics, science, and social studies; two-years
foreign language for the college bound; raise expectations
and standards admissions; longer school days and years
with increased amounts of homework. … improved teacher
education, increased teacher pay … . … accountability of
civic and school leaders to the citizenry.”
http://datacenter.spps.org/uploads/sotw_a_nation_at_risk_1983.pdf
 1990: Science for All Americans: Project 2061
AAAS lays out a goal for what science education should
look like by the return of Halley's comet in 2061.

“… science education should help students to become

scientifically literate by integrating the disciplines of
science, mathematics, and technology/engineering,
focusing on guiding themes and principles that unify the
disciplines independently and bring them together as a
whole, and explicitly teaching the nature of science.”

http://www.project2061.org/publications/sfaa/default.htm
 2006: Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities
James Heckman, Jora Stixrud, Sergio Urzua

“… cognitive and noncognitive abilities determine social

and economic success. … . … noncognitive skills … explain
why early childhood programs, like Headstart and the
Perry Preschool program, are effective. … they do not
boost IQ but raise noncognitive skills and therefore
promote success in social and economic life.”

http://www.nber.org/papers/w12006.pdf?new_window=1
 Percent Employers Rating Skill as "Very Important”
100

80
Percent

60

40

20

Adapted from: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF9-29-06.pdf

 Noncognitive skills aka Soft skills

 Communications
 Decision making
 Self management
 Teamwork
 Professionalism
 Experiences
 Leadership
“Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates? Perceptions of Employers, Alum, Faculty and
Students,” APLU, 2011
 2007: America COMPETES Act
"To invest in innovation through research and
development, and to improve the competitiveness of the
United States.

“… Act’s science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM) education agenda. … enhancement
of research capabilities and coordination and importance
of undergraduate research experiences … .”

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/hr2272/text
2009: Transforming Agricultural Education for a
Changing World – National Academy of Sciences
“If institutions … do not address changes needed,
their colleges … of agriculture may … become
irrelevant. Their graduates will have difficulty in
keeping up with changing needs of society and in
securing stable careers. … nation will miss its
opportunity for leadership in addressing the global
challenges related to food and agriculture.”

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12602#toc
 The Morrill/LG Act
• Foundational knowledge in
humanities and sciences
Cognitive Skills
• Practical education in agriculture
and mechanical arts
• Military leadership Noncognitive Skills
 Coalition for a Sustainable
Agricultural Workforce
• Start younger
• Get hands-on experience
• Attract the best and the brightest
• Companies expect to hire >1,000 scientist-level
FTEs in next two years (13% of current scientific
workforce)
• 84 percent of total needed in Plant Sciences,
Breeding/Genetics, and Protection
LGUs and 21st Century Workforce
 LGU Survey Results
Yes No Plan to
1
Food/ag literacy as general education 23
3
25
Require/encourage study abroad 2

Require/encourage experiential 26
learning 1
15
Leadership courses 11
1
22
Online courses 5
10
Revised curricula focus on 9 billion
15
challenge 2
 Curricular Innovations to Address
Nine Billion Question
• University of Nebraska
 Integrating food, energy, water, landscapes and people in
undergraduate curriculum
 B.S. in Integrated Sciences for students with academic and
professional goals that require trans-disciplinary study
 Dean's Scholars in Experiential Leadership Program
 AGRI 103 – first-year required course revised to focus on “big
questions” for the future of agriculture in the context of natural
resource use and long-term global needs and sustainability
• University of Florida
 Offer year-long leadership institute, leadership minor, and certificate
program in Food Security Leadership
• North Carolina State University
 Course: “World Population and Food Prospects”
• UC Davis
 Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems major
• Iowa State University
 New major “Global Resource Systems”
• Virginia Tech
 More hands on experiences; new courses; minor in international
agricultural and life sciences
• University of Minnesota
 MOOC - Sustainability of Food Systems: A Global Life-Cycle Perspective
 Innovations in Education
Start at a younger age

• Use the LG model in high schools

• Enhanced partnerships between high schools
and colleges/universities
• Resurrect AITC/Home Economics curricula
 Innovations in Education
Hands-on Experience

• Science fairs with an agriculture component

• Internships for undergrads and high school
students
• National competition for developing value-
added products
 Innovations in Education
Attract Best & Brightest: Constraints/Opportunities
• Cost of education/For profits
• Ag’s image problem
 “Useless Degrees”
• http://education.yahoo.net/articles/most_useless_degrees.ht
m
 Earnings potential/job placement
• 4-H and other informal education systems
• Role of community colleges
 2+2 articulation
 Need to build Ag curriculum at this level
 Gateway for minority and rural populations
Innovations in Education
Public-Private Partnerships
• Master agreements
• Co-funding
• Experiential education
Internships, externships
• Mentoring
HS, UG, G, Postdoc
• Leadership opportunities
• Guest lectures
 Path
Back Forward
to the Future?
Morrill/LG Act
Education Pipeline Domains

• Workforce
Experientia
l Education • Scientific cadre
• Extension cadre
• Producers