Educational Efforts for U.S. Tobacco Agronomists & Farmers

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1 Educational Efforts for U.S. Tobacco Agronomists & Farmers Matthew C. Vann Assistant Professor & Extension Tobacco Specialist Department of Crop and Soil Sciences North Carolina State University

2 Presentation Outline Introduction Overview of United States Policy Training & Education in North Carolina Good Agricultural Practices Program Future Efforts Questions Chris Jernigan-NCDA&CS Regional Agronomist

3 Introduction Ag education has three formats: Teaching Research Extension In the U.S., these formats have been used by agricultural institutions Very successful approach Land-Grant Institutes Cooperative Extension Service NCSU Graduate Student discussing potassium fertility at the 2010 Tobacco Tour

4 The Morrill Act of 1862 The Foundation for the Land Grant Institution Passed on July 2 nd, 1862 Created land-grant institutions that were: state supported open to the public focused on Agriculture & Mechanical Arts Over 100 million acres of land donated by the Federal Government Most land sold to finance existing schools or build new ones Reforms passed in 1890 s and land-grant institutions in the United States 1 Two are in North Carolina 1 Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities.

5 Hatch Act of 1887 The Foundation for Agricultural Research Stations Passed on March 2 nd, 1887 Provided $15,000 to each land-grant institution Goal was to create a series of agricultural research stations Most land-grant institutions were directly associated with the Morrill Act of 1862 Provided the necessary link between agriculture and research as a function of the land-grant system Presently 19 Research Stations in North Carolina Seven that house tobacco related research

Smith-Lever Act of 1914 The Foundation for the Cooperative Extension Service Passed on May 8 th, 1914 Furthered the efforts already utilized by the USDA In order to aid in diffusing among the people

6 Smith-Lever Act of 1914 The Foundation for the Cooperative Extension Service Passed on May 8 th, 1914 Furthered the efforts already utilized by the USDA In order to aid in diffusing among the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture, home economics, and rural energy Extension presence in all 100 counties of North Carolina 50 tobacco producing counties 35 Extension Agent s with tobacco responsibilities Single and multi-county responsibilities Similar systems present in all tobacco producing states

7 Education Extension Research

9 University of Florida 2. University of Georgia 3. Clemson University 4. North Carolina State Univ. 5. Virginia Tech University 6. University of Tennessee 7. University of Kentucky 8. University of Maryland 9. Penn State University 10. Ohio State University 11. Purdue University 12. University of Wisconsin

10 Educational Efforts in North Carolina Undergraduate & Graduate Education/Training Undergraduate Education CS 162: Tobacco Production (Vann) CS 216: Cotton, Peanut, and Tobacco Production (Vann) Sponsored internships with tobacco faculty and Cooperative Extension personnel Graduate Education CS 590: Cotton, Peanut, and Tobacco Production Practicum (Fisher) 15 graduate students working directly with tobacco Tobacco Faculty 14 NCSU faculty with tobacco related programs Extension, Research, & Teaching Courses Offered Principles of Plant Pathology (Shew) Plant Breeding Laboratory (Lewis) Plant Genetics (Lewis) Molecular Biology in Plant Breeding (Dewey) Insect Pest Management in Agricultural Crops (Burrack) Fellowship and Grant Writing in the Biological Sciences (Burrack) Machinery Design & Applications (Ellington) Ag Machinery and Power Units (Ellington) Agricultural Entomology Practicum (Sorenson) Medicinal Plants and Phytochemistry (Xie) Pesticide Chemistry (Gannon) Pesticide Fate in the Environment (Gannon)

11 Educational Efforts in North Carolina Tobacco Research Active Areas of Research Crop & Soil Sciences Agronomy, Breeding, Molecular Biology Entomology IPM Plant Pathology Ag Engineering Harvesting, Curing, Processing Ag Business Production Budgets/Marketing Outlooks Plant Biology

12 Educational Efforts in North Carolina Tobacco Extension In-person Training Tobacco Day Extension Agent Training Day Specific to tobacco grower meetings Extension Meetings Company Meetings Annual Tobacco Tour Annual Tobacco Short Course Information Bulletins NCSU Tobacco Portal NCSU Tobacco Information Facebook Instagram Twitter NCSU Tobacco Production Guide 6,250 copies printed in 2016 Burley & Dark Tobacco Production Guide NCSU, VT, UK, and UT Plant Disease and Insect Clinic

13 Collaborations in North Carolina Research Inter-departmental Insect feeding preference Organic vs. Conventional systems Heavy metal accumulation Nutritional diagnostic tool NC Dept. of Agriculture Boron fertility Calcium fertility Organic seedling production Extension, Education, & Training NC Dept. of Agriculture Field tours Information bulletins NC Dept. of Labor Labor training and worker safety Private Industry Meeting support Invitation to company meetings

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Program Created in 2013 Baseline certification Common training among tobacco types Number of GAP Certified Growers in Each State-2016 83 Organized by GAP

14 Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Program Created in 2013 Baseline certification Common training among tobacco types Number of GAP Certified Growers in Each State Organized by GAP Connections Knoxville, Tennessee Total of 8,898 growers trained in local meetings , , , Data Provided by GAP Connections-Knoxville, TN 56

15 GAP Program Overview Three key pillars: Crop Management Environmental Management Labor Management Assisted by US Dept. of Labor Record keeping templates General records Crop specific Air-cured Flue-cured Fire-cured Annual re-certification Conducted by Cooperative Extension GAP ID cards Electronic certification Long term data collection Annual GAP assessments Grower attendance required

16 GAP Program Meeting Overview Meetings organized at the county level Single and multi-county meetings One statewide meeting growers in attendance hour meeting duration 3 pillars of GAP covered in each meeting Allow specialists to cover relevant topics within each pillar 2016 Wilson County Agenda 9:00-Welcome/Announcements 9:10-GAP overview 9:25-Labor update 10:10-Disease update 10:30-Break 10:40-Agronomic update 11:10-Entomology update 11:30-Wilson County update 11:55-Growers Association update 12:00-Lunch

17 Future Educational & Training Efforts Continue to adapt GAP program Integration of other US agencies Expand grower training packets Utilize audit data to guide programs Expand digital information ibook nutrient diagnostic key Revitalize NCSU Tobacco Portal Podcasts? Further social media presence Facebook Livestream Adopt new platforms as they become available More information packets Greenhouse production guide?? Organic production guide?? Distance Education

18 Final Remarks The US tobacco industry has remained vibrant largely because of the land-grant institution system Cooperative Extension is an integral component to continued successes Training does not end once a meeting is over, nor once a degree is conferred The US Cooperative Extension Service will continue to provide tobacco related training

19 Questions?? Matthew C. Vann: Website: tobacco.ces.ncsu.edu North Carolina

Faculty Salary Data Report (prepared Nov. 16, 2009)

2008-2009 Faculty Salary Data Report (prepared Nov. 16, 2009) Using the UT October 2008 payroll and data from the Oklahoma State University Faculty Salary Survey by Discipline (http://vpaf.okstate.edu/irim/facultysalary.html),