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Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell plans to introduce a reworked agricultural degree and will start by offering an updated animal science course this coming semester.
“I think that ENMU-R realizes the need of the community to have an ag program,” said Skyler Pierce, a former Roswell High School agricultural education teacher for nine years who joined the college in July.
“There are a lot of opportunities within Chaves County for employment within ag. They really just wanted to meet the community’s needs and offer something that is beneficial for our local students and our local community,” said Pierce, who will teach and lead the college’s agricultural programs.
The animal science course will focus mainly on livestock standards and has been changed from the course that is now listed in the school’s catalog as part of the associate of arts in agriculture degree.
Pierce said that program has not been active for a while because of the need for someone to teach and direct the program.
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Pierce also explained that he has updated the animal science course to meet standards required by the New Mexico Higher Education Department. He said it also will have some unique features to ENMU-Roswell, such as offering tours at local agricultural producer sites.
Pierce said, if all goes as planned, the college should have a “full rollout” of its associate of science degree in agriculture by the fall.
“It is going to be kind of general agriculture that any student could take two years at ENMU-R and that actually could transfer out to any other school to finish their bachelor’s in agriculture,” he said.
He said he has reviewed the courses and, when needed, revised them to ensure that they align with the state’s core courses, which will make it possible for students to transfer their credits to other colleges and universities in the state.
Shawn Powell, president of ENMU-Roswell, said that the program changes need to be reviewed by the Community College Board, the ENMU Board of Regents, as well as by state higher education officials and the school’s accreditation commission.
Eventually Pierce would like for the college to offer certificates in agricultural mechanics and agricultural technology, expertise that Pierce said is increasingly needed in agricultural professions now and that will make the local program unique.
With the aim of running a program that will meet the need of students and the agricultural industry, both locally and beyond, ENMU-Roswell is making connections with educators and agricultural professionals.
That includes having a program advisory board with farmers, ranchers, dairy owners, agricultural finance professionals and 4-H advisors among the members.
Pierce also is working with teachers and administrations in high schools in the Pecos Valley to ensure that students and advisors are aware of the educational opportunity and also with the expectation that the college and high schools will develop “direct pathways,” allowing students to take courses in high school that will prepare them for the degree programs.
He said agricultural courses are being offered at Hagerman High School now. Dual credit courses, enabling students to earn both high school and college credits for the same agriculture course, are also expected to be developed.
Pierce also explained that program courses will offer information about sustainable agricultural practices, with expertise coming from industry and advisory board members, as well as government resources such as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Services.
“Almost every ag person I know nowadays has a diversified program, so that is something we will be looking into — trying to give our students what they won’t get somewhere else,” Pierce said. “We aren’t solely tied to one theory. We want to work with producers in our area and offer things that are relevant in our area. We are definitely open to ideas as far as how to include sustainability in their ag program or their operations.”
Chaves County ranks second in the state for the value of its agricultural industry, as measured by cash receipts for farm commodities, according to 2019 statistics published by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, the most recent year for which the state data is available. In 2019, Chaves County agricultural producers earned $519.34 million from their livestock and crops out of a statewide total of $3.18 billion.
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions indicates that the state had 11,251 people employed in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting industry in 2018, with 4,921 of those located in eastern counties. The department’s Economic Research and Analysis Bureau also projected that management positions at farms, ranches and other agricultural-related businesses will be among the 20 occupations with the most job growth during the next 10 years in the eastern part of New Mexico. Farm, ranch, nursery and greenhouse laborers also were on the list.
Lisa Dunlap can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext. 351, or at reporter02@rdrnews.com.
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ENMU-R plans for revised agriculture degree - Roswell Daily Record
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