There is a technology gap in two-year agricultural technician education that will continue to grow unless positive action is taken. Future graduates must be prepared to enter an industry that is taking on global responsibilities; that is confronting the problems of environmental pollution; that must remain competitive in the worldwide marketplace; that requires more specialized knowledge; and that is experiencing an accelerating rate of technological change. These challenges require a higher level of mathematics, science, and technology education than is currently offered. To address this technology gap, the Technical Agriculture Association, an association of colleges, schools, and programs, within land-grant institutions offering certificate and associate degrees in technical agriculture, is holding a national conference to promote significant improvements within agricultural technician education. This national conference brings together stakeholders in advanced agricultural technology from both the academic (research and education including secondary schools and two-year colleges and universities) and employment sectors. Among the focus areas of the conference are: (a) standards for associate degree technicians in agricultural fields; (b) job descriptions of what technicians in these areas can best do; (c) programs and curricula which currently exist on which these programs can build; (d) common and distinct elements of programs for agricultural technicians; (e) involvement of employers in curriculum development, faculty and student development, and research; (f) what education agricultural technicians need and who should provide it; (g) future needs for technicians in evolving agricultural fields such as precision agriculture, and (h) further educational opportunities for students with associate degrees in agriculture.
