Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities

by Committee on the Future of the Colleges of Agriculture in the Land Grant University System, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council

1996 · National Academies Press

Since their inception in 1862, the U.S. land grant colleges have evolved to become the training ground for the nation's and the world's agriculturists. In this book, the committee examines the future of the colleges of agriculture in light of changing national priorities for the agricultural, food, and natural resource system. The effects of federal funding constraints also are examined, as are opportunities for growth presented by developments in science. The committee's preceding volume, Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities: A Profile, is a compilation of the data that helped formulate the specific questions to be addressed. Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Univerisities: Public Service and Public Policy is the deliberative report, rating conclusions and recommendations for institutional innovation and public policy. It addresses these and other questions: What education mission should colleges of agriculture adopt--and what strategies should they use--in light of significant changes in the agricultural complex? Research in agriculture is expected to respond to consumer demands, environmental concerns, world population growth, and increasing pressure on agricultural lands. Is the century-old structure of land grant university-based research up to the task? What is the role of extension in light of today's smaller farming communities and larger farming conglomerates? This volume is the culmination of a landmark evaluation of land grant colleges of agriculture, an American institution. This document will be of value to policymakers, administrators, and others involved in agricultural science and education.

The Evaluation of Federal Programs in Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension

by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on Resource Conservation, Research, and Forestry

1996

Three House of Representatives' subcommittee hearings were held in March, May, and July 1996 to evaluate the goals, priority setting, and advisory mechanisms of federal programs in agricultural research, education, and extension. To become competitive in global markets, farmers will need to rely on the research community to provide up-to-date technology and market information. The purpose of the hearings was to establish research priorities for the 21st century, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal research investment, and improve accountability through the establishment of a coordinated advisory and priority setting mechanism. Testimony was received from U.S. Senators and Representatives; Under-Secretaries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and spokespersons for agribusiness associations, agricultural science associations, research institutions, land grant universities, and the Extension Service. The following topics were discussed: the role of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization and Research (Peoria, Illinois) in commercialization of agricultural products; financial and political threats to the federal government's role in agricultural research and education; research priorities related to human nutrition, new agricultural and livestock pests and diseases, food safety, and farming's environmental issues; replacing petrochemical ingredients in industrial products with agriculture-based ingredients; proposed participants and processes in setting research priorities for government funding; importance of sustainable agriculture; the needs of rural families and communities that are not usually well supported in USDA budgets and extension programs; worldwide research on consumer food preferences; structure and funding of federally funded agricultural research programs conducted by land grant universities, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and the agribusiness industry; and the role and methods of the Cooperative Extension Service in disseminating research-based information to farmers. (SV)

Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World

by National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies, Board on Life Sciences, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Committee on a Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learning

2009 · National Academies Press

During the next ten years, colleges of agriculture will be challenged to transform their role in higher education and their relationship to the evolving global food and agricultural enterprise. If successful, agriculture colleges will emerge as an important venue for scholars and stakeholders to address some of the most complex and urgent problems facing society. Such a transformation could reestablish and sustain the historical position of the college of agriculture as a cornerstone institution in academe, but for that to occur, a rapid and concerted effort by our higher education system is needed to shape their academic focus around the reality of issues that define the world's systems of food and agriculture and to refashion the way in which they foster knowledge of those complex systems in their students. Although there is no single approach to transforming agricultural education, a commitment to change is imperative.