South Dakota State University will launch the nation’s first four-year degree in precision agriculture this fall, with a goal of educating “the next generation of innovators,” reports AgWeb.
Over the last 15 years precision agriculture has become fully integrated into farming, with satellite technology and data analysis giving farmers the tools to more efficiently observe and coordinate all aspects of their operations, maximizing returns on inputs and conserving resources. But as this more sophisticated approach has taken root, the need for specialized training became more acute. “We heard voices across agriculture talking about the need for students to fill multiple voids in the precision ag industry,” says Nicholas Uilk, an Ag Systems Technology instructor at SDSU.
“The SDSU program has a triple focus on agronomics, analytics and machinery,” says AgWeb. Students learn to “manage soils, moisture, insects, weeds, disease, and all other variables that impact crop production,” says Van Kelley, department head of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department at SDSU. The students also will get high-level statistics classes “to help them analyze and better understand the complexity in agronomic production systems,” says Kelley, and they will also study everything from hydraulics, electronics and sensors to everyday skills involved in planting, harvesting and spraying.