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Blue 365 helping better position agriculture classes for the future

 

By STAN MADDUX

REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft Corp. has entered the farming arena so that as technology keeps advancing, agriculture in the United States continues to compete at the highest level possible.

The National FFA Organization and the technology giant have partnered to bring innovative technology into the classrooms of more than 650,000 FFA student members nationwide. The initiative “Blue 365” relies on the internet to provide access to the latest developments and instruction in areas including science, research and entrepreneurship to students and their teachers.

‘’While digital technology is transforming every part of the American economy, not everyone is acquiring the skills to thrive,” said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft.

Blaze Currie, a leadership developer with National FFA, said technology is already taught in FFA classrooms, but not to the extent made possible by a website that FFA teachers and students, under the initiative, can access to obtain the latest technology related information.

Video presentations by technology expert instructors and strategic lesson plans that call for things like brainstorming sessions will be among the resources to be on the website, he said. Information will also be available later through a podcast.

“These are the kinds of things we help create in terms of resources for our teachers to use in the classrooms,” said Currie.

Blue 365 will be unveiled during the 91st National FFA Convention & Expo, scheduled Oct. 24-27 in Indianapolis. The gathering is the nation’s largest student convention.

Matt Chaliff, agricultural educational consultant for Kentucky FFA, said the venture with Microsoft meets a “huge need.” He explained not all FFA teachers have the type of knowledge the website can provide, and introducing students to current technological advances and those coming down the pike can tap into potential they didn’t know they had.

He said the website also provides agriculture a more effective way of growing its own pool of talent so FFA students with skills in technology can land jobs that might be a better fit for them at companies like John Deere, instead of a firm with no connection to farming.

“It just makes so much sense for us to be our own talent pipeline,” Chaliff said.

Currie added that a need expressed by leaders in the agriculture industry for more workers skilled in areas such as coding and bioscience was a motivator for getting more educational data into FFA classrooms.

“They love FFA members for the core qualities – hard work, ethics, honesty, good leadership skills, But, in terms of some of the technical things, these companies are telling us they’re hiring a different skill set,” he said.

In recent years, food production has become increasingly dependent on sophisticated technological advances like precision agriculture, big data, cloud technology, robotic systems and advanced communications for efficiencies to meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population.

With technology changing so fast, the idea is to make sure tomorrow’s farmers and workers in other areas of the ag industry are primed to keep up with the rapid advances and become innovators themselves. Chaliff said examples of rapid change include GPS – a major breakthrough a decade or so ago – now being just a standard tool, and cell phones being able to control irrigation systems.

“Those are things we couldn’t even talk about five years ago,” he noted.

During the convention, students, as part of the Blue 365 kick-off, will be taken into what’s called the “Blue Room.” The 17,000 square feet of space will showcase cutting-edge technology, research and innovation happening across the spectrum to educate and spark interest and creativity that could one day produce innovative fruit.

There will also be interaction with a variety of technology experts. “Through agricultural education and FFA, our members are evolving their skill sets for the 21st century demands. They will be the change in our industry. Blue 365 can be the spark needed to create the next big idea in agriculture,” said Mark Poeschl, National FFA CEO.

8/16/2018