CHEERS will address re-skilling the agricultural workforce through outreach, and will train the next generation of agricultural workforce through formal and non-formal education. We plan to collaborate with SBAE teachers and 4-H program leaders to identify youth to apply an immersive experience program. The education team will create resources designed to be used by SBAE teachers and 4-H leaders. Instructions and example simulations will be created to use in the classroom along with assignment sheets and questions teachers can use. The content will also be produced with and for 4-H youth that will empower them to serve as outreach ambassadors of science-based information on integrated crops and livestock systems.
Project Youth Grow
This approach involves working with FFA high school students from Marianna High School in Marianna, Florida. The agriculture teacher helped identify students who are interested in learning about winter grain cropping systems.
The plan is to schedule five in-season visits during which participants will travel to the research station, North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC), to learn about specific production practices. Each visit will last approximately 2 to 2.5 hours. Activities will begin with about 20 minutes in the conference room to review the day’s plan, followed by field activities at the research plots.
The plan for the five visits during the winter cropping season is as follows:
Day 1: Calibration of equipment and Planting
Objectives: Describe conditions for planting winter crops. Design an experiment using the scientific method to determine effectiveness of winter cropping systems.
Day 2: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Herbicides
Objectives: Identify pest and disease damage in winter cropping systems. Develop an IPM Strategy for winter cropping systems.
Day 3: Fertilizers
Day 4: Irrigation and water management
Day 5: Harvesting
