KEYSER, W.Va. — Potomac State College of West Virginia University announced a new major — Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship (SAGE). In this program, students will gain hands-on experience by working on the farms and being involved with food, forestry and other production enterprises.
Plant Science Professor Donna Ballard said, students can learn how to turn practices like gardening into a money-making venture, such as rooftop enterprise and other urban agriculture fields.
About the degree
Students will earn a two-year, career-oriented associate of applied science (AAS) degree. Students graduating from this program will be prepared to own and/or manage a farming enterprise based on sound multi-faceted production systems.
These systems will include large animal; poultry; agronomic, horticultural and high-tunnel crops; forest timber; non-timber products; and more. Students will also complete business courses in addition to agriculture and forestry course work.
Ballard emphasizes that this is the first degree of its kind within a 100-mile radius of Keyser. “With the ever growing world population and need for quality, safe food supplies, graduates of this program will be on the leading edge of farm-to-table food production,” she stated.
Industry
According to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of agricultural and food science technicians is projected to grow 5 percent from 2014 to 2024. Advances in technology and scientific knowledge related to food production will require a greater control of production and processing activities; therefore, increasing demands for these workers.
Potomac State College is centrally located in a multi-state region that has traditionally been engaged in diverse agricultural production. According to the West Virginia Office of the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistic Service, four of the top five West Virginia counties in terms of agriculture sales are Hardy, Pendleton, Grant, and Hampshire — all in the Eastern Panhandle and strong student bases for the College’s SAGE program.
Faculty members are currently working on a four-year bachelor of applied science SAGE degree and they anticipate approval to accept students for the fall 2018 semester.
College Farm
The college farms, totaling more than 800 acres, serve as academic and production resources. The College is in the process of purchasing property in the Fort Ashby Business and Technology Park along with a shell building to develop a food hub for the collection, processing and distribution of foodstuffs involving the community through a food market.
For more information about Potomac State College and its new SAGE program, call 304-788-6820 or email go2psc@mail.wvu.edu.
