Northeast Community College to lead National Ag Education Consortium

NORFOLK, Neb. -- A multi-state consortium of two-year ag colleges will be headquartered in Nebraska. 

Northeast Community College announced on Monday that they will be the home of the Community College Alliance of Agriculture Advancement (C2A3). 

It's made up of nine colleges throughout the midwest, but now, college officials said they've received a $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand across the nation. 

Tracy Kruse, vice president of development and external affairs at Northeast, serves as the group’s executive director.

“C2A3 began as a Midwest consortium,” Kruse said. “But with this partnership, we will be able to expand to include colleges from across the nation. Our goal is to have at least 50 community and technical college members by the end of the four-year award period.”

The program will develop regionally specific programming and curriculums that can be used all over the U.S.

“C2A3 schools will increase students’ interest in agriculture, natural resources, and conservation, with a focus on preparing students for USDA jobs. National skill standards will be developed in natural resource conservation, precision agriculture, and agronomy,” said Astrid Martinez, Director of the Conservation Planning and Technical Assistance division with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This is an important step in developing the next generation of agricultural leaders.”

Among the potential new projects, using artificial intelligence in precision livestock, crop drainage and irrigation management, and urban agriculture among others.