The Northern Crops Institute (NCI) is hosting the inaugural Summer Ag Academy for high school students on the campus of North Dakota State University, June 13th-16th, 2023. The registration deadline is May 22nd, at nciagacademy.com.
NCI program development manager Dr. Casey Peterson said the idea for the academy came from conversations with NCI partners in the agriculture industry.
“They were looking at what’s coming up and seeing that they don’t have another generation readily available. And so they’re seeing this as a need, and the Northern Crops Institute our whole mission is to promote and maintain the markets for the crops grown in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana. And so this is actually our first program for high school students, specifically. Normally we target people out in the industry. And so this is really about getting them interested in the careers that are available in some of these tracks and agriculture.”
The academy is open to all high school students, regardless of past experience in agriculture, grades 10-12 (as of the ‘23-’24 school year). Participants will choose 1 of 3 tracks for immersive career exploration. Each track is limited to 20 students. Track 1 is food science in the NCI labs, Track 2 involves hands-on experience in animal science and nutrition at the NCI Feed Mill, and Track 3 focuses on international trade and policy at NDSU’s Barry Hall.
Two free college credits are available to each participant, and the Academy experience is free. Peterson said it’s being made possible by the collaboration of industry partners.
“The industry partners, so far, we’re getting a pretty wide variety. We’ve got organizations like North Dakota Barley, Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotional Council, Northern Pulse Growers, and South Dakota Soybean Checkoff. They’re all sponsors for us. We also have the South Dakota Department of Ag and Natural Resources, and Red River Commodities. So those are a few of the different types of organizations that we have.”
Preference will be given to students from Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, but the opportunity for the Ag Academy is open to all.
By Rusty Halvorson
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