Strengthening Farms and the Rural Economy through Agricultural Mechanics

农技强农、农村经济

• 批准号: 1601397
• 负责人: Jay Olsen
• 金额: $ 19.87万
• 依托单位: Snow College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-08-15 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601397&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Strengthening; Farms; Rural; Economy; through

The project at Snow College in Utah will advance knowledge in the field of agricultural mechanics by integrating education and training in the mechanics of modern, computer-driven technologies with traditional farm equipment mechanics training. Maintenance and repair of precision irrigation equipment, an important innovation that conserves water while enabling profitable farming in drought-ridden areas, requires advanced skills that students will develop as they work with state-of-the-art equipment. The use of drones and GPS makes it possible to identify and monitor problems that directly impact agricultural productivity, and drones also require very specialized maintenance and repair skills. The precision irrigation component of the project will support more efficient use of scarce water resources. Business owners and farmers will provide input into program and curriculum design by serving on the Ag Mechanics Advisory Committee. A formative and summative evaluation process will be employed to continuously enhance the project activities and provide opportunities for researching and evaluating the success of the project and deliverables.This project is designed to develop a new Agricultural Mechanics (Ag Mechanics) program that will meet the growing need for education and training in installing, maintaining, diagnosing/troubleshooting, using, and repairing complex and integrated agricultural equipment. A multidisciplinary curriculum will focus on both traditional gasoline- and diesel-powered equipment and on new computer-driven technologies, including precision irrigation equipment, as well as drones and GPS for crop monitoring and mapping. The new program will consist of existing courses that are relevant to Ag Mechanics, existing courses that are modified to integrate new content, and newly created courses. A rich curriculum will serve students who plan to work in agriculture, both those working on family and commercial farms, and students preparing to become skilled technicians in service industries that repair, sell, and service farm equipment. Ag Mechanics will offer two certificates and an A.A.S. degree. Students who are interested in more advanced studies will be able to transfer to a four-year degree program in Agricultural Systems Technology at Utah State University. An important component of the project will be the development of a pathway program that connects high school students in agricultural courses to the Ag Mechanics program. College faculty will work with high school instructors to promote the pathway and develop a concurrent enrollment course in Ag Mechanics. Area high schools that participate in the pathway program will be able to provide their students with a broader educational experience. Because their high school classes are the beginning of a pathway that can lead to a certificate, a two-year degree, and a four-year baccalaureate degree, participating students will be motivated to complete high school and seek college-level education. The program will provide a model for other technical colleges as the focus on both traditional and modern equipment is an approach that can be replicated at colleges throughout the nation. The multidisciplinary design, which combines existing courses with new and modified courses, is an excellent template for other small schools that lack the financial and human resources to create completely new curricula.

犹他州雪学院的项目将通过将现代计算机驱动技术的力学与传统的农业设备力学培训相结合，通过将教育和培训整合到农业力学领域。精确灌溉设备的维护和维修，这是一种重要的创新，可以在干旱饱满的地区进行盈利的耕作，这是一项保存水的重要创新，需要学生在使用最先进的设备时发展的高级技能。无人机和全科医生的使用使您可以识别和监测直接影响农业生产力的问题，而无人机还需要非常专业的维护和维修技巧。该项目的精确灌溉部分将支持更有效地利用稀缺水资源。企业主和农民将通过在AG Mechanics咨询委员会任职来提供计划和课程设计的意见。将采用形成性和总结性的评估过程来不断增强项目活动，并为研究和评估项目和可交付成果的成功提供机会。该项目旨在制定新的农业力学计划（AG机械师）计划，以满足不断增长的教育和培训，以安装，维持，诊断/诊断/诊断，诊断/诊断/使用，使用，使用，并进行化学的复杂和整合化的复杂和整体化的化合物。多学科课程将重点关注传统的汽油和柴油动力设备以及新的计算机驱动技术，包括精密灌溉设备，以及用于作物监测和映射的无人机和GPS。新计划将由与AG机械师相关的现有课程，现有课程进行了修改以集成新内容以及新创建的课程。丰富的课程将为计划从事农业工作的学生提供服务的学生，包括从事家庭和商业农场工作的学生，以及准备成为维修，出售和服务农场设备的服务行业的熟练技术人员。 AG Mechanics将提供两个证书和一个A.A.S.程度。对更高级研究感兴趣的学生将能够转入犹他州立大学农业系统技术的四年制学位课程。该项目的重要组成部分是开发一项途径计划，该计划将农业课程中的高中学生与AG Mechanics计划联系起来。大学教职员工将与高中教练合作，促进该道路并开发同时的AG机械师入学课程。参加路径计划的地区高中将能够为学生提供更广泛的教育经验。由于他们的高中课程是可以导致证书，两年学位和四年学位学位的途径的开始，因此，参与的学生将有动力完成高中并寻求大学水平的教育。 该计划将为其他技术学院提供模型，因为对传统设备和现代设备的关注是一种可以在全国范围内复制的方法。多学科设计将现有课程与新的和修改的课程相结合，是其他小型学校的绝佳模板，这些学校缺乏创建全新课程的财务和人力资源。