07-2019 Developing Future Agronomy Leaders through Day Camp and Individual Learning Projects Annual Report

Agronomy is a diverse field of study in plant and soil sciences which include external factors such as: entomology, genetics, physiology, biology and chemistry. Recent trends in undergraduate enrollment show many students prefer to specialize in a specific science rather than a generalist discipline like agronomy. As the number of applied-science agronomists decreases, we face a shortage of individuals with the knowledge to perform field diagnostics, soil nutrient management, develop overall farm management plans or to conduct research. As the number of professionally-trained field agronomist declines, having access to people that can answer day-to-day questions could become a serious issue. So this project objective is to develop an Agronomy Camp emphasizing hands-on training for young people.