Graduate Training in Food Production and Safety

Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
This fellowship project addresses the Targeted Expertise Shortage Area of Training in Integrative Biosciences for Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems and Relevant Discipline Code G. The specific USDA NIFA Priority Areas addressed by the project include: Global Food Security and Food Safety. The project's goal is to increase the number of crop advisers in both the private and public sector. The project's objective is to enhance the sustainability and safety of the nation's food production through multidisciplinary and specialized doctoral level training in food production and safety. Three Fellows will be broadly instructed over a period of 3-4 years in the prevention, diagnosis and sustainable management of plant health problems by completing the Doctor of Plant Medicine degree at the University of Florida. Fellows will also complete the Specialization in Food Production and Safety. The training will be accomplished through the multidisciplinary UF Plant Medicine Program in cooperation with crop consulting firms and the Cooperative Extension Service in the U.S. and internationally. Trainee progress will be evaluated bi-annually by their five-member Supervisory Committee (plant scientist, entomologist, plant pathologist, food scientist and crop consultant or extension agent) and at the conclusion of their program of study by standardized, comprehensive, written and oral examinations. This project addresses the national need to replace the numerous crop consultants and Extension personnel with expertise in food production and safety who are increasingly being lost through retirement.
<br/>Project impact: Fellows will become effective agricultural advisers who will enhance the sustainability and safety of U.S. food production in a globally oriented and technologically advanced world economy.
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Approach:<br/>
This project addresses the national need to replace the numerous crop consultants and Extension personnel with expertise in food production and safety who are increasingly being lost through retirement. The project's goal is to increase the number of crop advisers in both the private and public sector. Three Fellows will be broadly instructed over a period of 3-4 years in the prevention, diagnosis and sustainable management of plant health problems by completing the Doctor of Plant Medicine degree at the University of Florida (UF). Fellows will also complete the Specialization in Food Production and Safety. The training will be accomplished through the multidisciplinary UF Plant Medicine Program in cooperation with crop consulting firms and the Cooperative Extension Service in the U.S. and internationally. DPM Students must accumulate 120 graduate credit hours (90 in classroom courses and 30 in hands-on internships) encompassing all relevant agricultural science disciplines and related subjects. One half of the experiential training requirements are fulfilled by working with faculty who supervise the soil testing, insect identification, plant disease diagnosis, nematode assay clinics and summer weed science training program of the UF-IFAS in Gainesville. Fellows will complete the remainder of their internship and elective coursework credits through specific training in food safety practices and issues related to crop production. The Fellows will be required to complete the 30-credit Specialization in Food Production and Safety developed by the PMP, consisting of 15 credits of coursework and 15-16 of internships. The remaining elective internship credits required for the D.P.M. degree and specialization can be conducted with crop consultants and/or Extension agents throughout the U.S. and internationally. Trainee progress will be evaluated bi-annually by their five-member Supervisory Committee (plant scientist, entomologist, plant pathologist, food scientist and crop consultant or extension agent) and at the conclusion of their program of study by standardized, comprehensive, written and oral examinations. Fellows will also attend annual training workshops on food safety as it relates to crop production organized and delivered by UF-IFAS extension specialists. The careers of NNF Program Fellows will be tracked. The findings will be used to adjust future D.P.M. students' and NNF Program Fellows' programs of study. Over the past 9 years four curriculum surveys have been conducted among the DPM students and graduates. Data from these surveys plus input from the PMP Coordinating Committee (UF faculty) and PMP Advisory Committee (external industry group) have led to curriculum enhancement. The outcomes of the project, employment in crop advising and food safety, will be shared with relevant audiences and policy makers through the PMP website, printed media and NIFA/NNF meetings.
<br/>Project impact: Fellows will become effective agricultural advisers who will enhance the sustainability and safety of U.S. food production in a globally oriented and technologically advanced world economy.