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INVESTIGATOR: de Koff, J.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
3500 JOHN A. MERRITT BLVD
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37209

BUILDING EXTENSION CAPACITY BY DEVELOPING RELEVANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NOVEL EXPERIENCES (DRONES) IN AGRICULTURE

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can reduce inputs and, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, can provide a return on investment of $12/acre of corn and $2-3/acre for soybean and wheat. These systems can also be used as a way to excite youth about agriculture and teach important STEM principles. A 2016 needs assessment of 94 ANR Extension agents (one per county) and 89 4-H Extension agents (one per county) in Tennessee identified 78% and 94% were interested in programming using UAS technology for adult and youth workshops, respectively.The main objectives are to (1) develop a DRONE educational platform (2) develop and implement curricula and regional workshops using the DRONE platform for separate adult and youth audiences to enhance farmer knowledge, awareness and interest in UAS technology and increase youth knowledge in STEM principles and youth interest in agriculture. Participant evaluations from each workshop will be utilized to improve subsequent workshops.The DRONE workshops will build capacity at Tennessee State University (TSU) by creating a novel program that can train farmers and Extension agents and educate students (K-12, undergraduate, graduate) on important, new agricultural technology. These workshops will build the capacity of Tennessee farmers (150 total) and youth (150 total) to compete and succeed in agriculture and science. It is also expected that about 5 undergraduate students will receive training and increase their capacity related Extension curriculum development through their assistance with this project. The DRONE platform and workshops will also increase TSU's capacity to attract stakeholders and students.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this project is to engage stakeholders in education using the new UAS technology.The main objective of this project is to develop and implement curricula and workshops related to using UAS technology for adult and youth audiences.The specific objectives of this project are to:1) incorporate UAS technology to demonstrate its potential uses in agriculturalproduction and provide hands-on experiential training to farmers 2) incorporate UAS technology to provide agricultural workforce development and teachSTEM concepts to youth3) disseminate results and outputs through online and hard copy formats4) provide training to undergraduate students in extension curriculum development andUAS technology5) evaluate the impact of the workshops and undergraduate training