Students Tour Farms, Learn About STEM Careers in Ag

Students standing in a field holding freshly harvested carrots

Nine Cal Poly Pomona students toured farming operations in the Coachella and Imperial valleys and Arizona last month to learn more about career options in agriculture.

The students’ Dec. 17-19 tour took them to Peter Rabbit Farms, Richard Bagdasarian Inc., Head Start Nursery, Tanimura & Antle, Pasquinelli Produce Co., GreenGate Fresh, the University of Arizona’s Yuma Agricultural Center, Gowan Co., and Vessy & Co.

“We saw many large-scale production fields for things such as carrots, celery, grapes, lettuce, broccoli, and some citrus. We were lucky to see the harvesting of lettuce, and the cleaning, sorting, and packing of lemons,” said Jessica Rodriguez, a senior in agricultural science from Rancho Cucamonga. “The processing facility of Sunkist lemons was amazing simply because of the technology and workers who were fast and precise.”

Food and nutrition major Laine Murphy found the processing facility the most interesting stop because it showed how salad mixes are cleaned and packaged.

“I learned that water rights and the scarcity of ground water is a major factor in the affordability and competitiveness of most farmers in this region,” the Indianapolis native added.

For Shelby Guillen, a food science and technology transfer student from Fontana, the trip was an opportunity to see the heart of the agriculture world for the first time.

“I saw some really interesting up and coming technology at the Yuma Agriculture Center. The researchers there are working on things like autonomous tractors and artificial intelligence herbicide applicator robots, both of which are prototypes and have not gone mainstream yet,” she said. “It was fascinating to see what the future of ag work is going to look like.

Guillen hopes to work with the USDA or the Food & Drug Administration in public health and safety. The trip will shape how she approaches regulations and future policy.

“Speaking with the farmers gave great insight as to what reality on the farm is and what it is they need the most,” Guillen said. “Now that I know how and where our food is grown and produced, I’ll be able to apply the knowledge to find ways to keep our food fresh and nutritious for longer, so that the wholeness reaches further to the people who need it the most.”

The tour was sponsored by Western Growers, which started the program in 2016 as a way to get college students interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related careers in agriculture.

Thirty students participated in the three-day tour. In addition to Cal Poly Pomona, students from UC Davis and the University of Arizona traveled on the tour.

(Our thanks to Western Growers for sharing their photos with us!)

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