Southeast Missouri State Department of Ag receives $30,000 grant | News

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - The Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University has been awarded a two-year $30,000 grant entitled “The Missouri Higher Education Partnership for Agriculture Relevancy.”

The USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant focuses on improving agriculture and renewable resources teaching.

Southeast, as the lead institution, has partnered with Missouri State University, Northwest Missouri State University, Central Missouri State University, Truman University, and Lincoln to provide online agriculture courses among these institutions.

“As an example, students at Southeast will be able to take key courses in ‘Swine Production’ from Northwest Missouri State University and their students will take ‘Irrigation Management’ from Southeast,” said Dr. Mike Aide, chair of the Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University. “Students in these programs will be able to experience courses from institutions that have a compelling advantage, thus enriching their academic experience.”

The grant also allows agribusiness to assist the faculty in developing courses that explicitly address the skills required by high-tech agriculture companies. This multi-institutional distance education collaborative effort also provides access to a wider variety of subject matter experts, Aide said.

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