海角社区 Eunice Puts Louisiana鈥檚 Future Farmers on the Fast-Track
April 06, 2022
Louisiana Life magazine selected 海角社区E Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine, pictured here with his wife Gail, as Louisianan of the Year for Conservation in the January-February 2022 issue. He鈥檚 taught at 海角社区E for almost four decades and still teaches five days a week. With Charles Allen and the Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society, the 10-acre Cajun Prairie Restoration Project Vidrine helped start in Eunice, Louisiana in 1988 is considered to be one of the leading restoration sites in the United States.
鈥� Romero & Romero
Transforming agricultural education in Acadiana and supporting local farms.
Baton Rouge鈥擳hrough a new skills-based and stackable certificate program鈥擲ustaining Future Farms in Louisiana鈥攁nd a brand-new Associate of Science in Agriculture degree, 海角社区 Eunice (海角社区E) will produce the next generation of technologically advanced farmers.
鈥淎t 海角社区E, the 鈥楢鈥� in STEAM stands for agriculture, not arts,鈥� said John Hamlin, vice chancellor of academic affairs at 海角社区E. 鈥淟ouisiana has an aging and declining farming population, but by collaborating more closely with the 海角社区 College of Agriculture and AgCenter in Baton Rouge, our mission is to sustain farming for future generations, and teach our students modern farming technology.鈥�
With $846,000 in support from the Delta Regional Authority鈥攖he largest grant 海角社区E has received in recent years鈥攕tudents will be able to take a free Introduction to Agriculture class and combine it with skills-based training in one of four areas: beginner cattleman, master farmer, crop analyst, or FAA drone certification, in combination with a business management certification.
海角社区E is located in the heart of rice and crawfish country, but the area is also home to the largest pasture-to-plate beef cattle processor in the state, Coastal Plains Meat Company. Veteran-owned, the company hopes to soon host 海角社区E interns and hire graduates.
鈥淲e need labor on all levels, from ranchers to butchers to sales. I wish 海角社区鈥檚 new program existed when I was coming out of the Marine Corps, because I probably would have done it.鈥�
Chip Perrin, co-founder of Coastal Plains Meat Company and U.S. Marine Corps veteran
鈥淲e need labor on all levels, from ranchers to butchers to sales,鈥� said Chip Perrin, co-founder of Coastal Plains and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. 鈥淚 wish 海角社区鈥檚 new program existed when I was coming out of the Marine Corps, because I probably would have done it.鈥�
Perrin and Hamlin agree that agriculture offers an excellent job opportunity for returning veterans, but also for transitioning workers, including from oil and gas, and high school students interested in dual enrollment and in quickly joining a highly skilled workforce.
Vernon and Justin Fuselier initially adopted 海角社区 Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine鈥檚 approach to rebuilding land as Cajun prairie for bird hunts and cattle grazing. It has since 鈥渢ransformed everything we do,鈥� according to the father-and-son team. They now direct-market their own grass-fed beef and chemical-free rice and crawfish. Justin Fuselier is a horticulturist and 海角社区E-海角社区 graduate.
鈥� Photo courtesy of Justin Fuselier
鈥淚f you look at the average age of our farmers, it鈥檚 about 50 years old, and each year, that age increases,鈥� Perrin said. 鈥淪o, we have aging owners with children who might not want to farm, but this is an opportunity for younger entrepreneurs to come out of a certificate program or two-year degree to run that farmer鈥檚 operation, run that business, and help localize our food supply chain in Louisiana. And with 海角社区, we can do it here, at home, through our own universities.鈥�
His partner David Billings, a U.S. Army veteran and the other co-founder of Coastal Plains, agreed. He received his own master cattleman certification through the 海角社区 AgCenter.
鈥淲e think very highly of higher education, but not everyone is meant for a four-year degree, and getting hands-on training makes all the difference in the world,鈥� Billings said. 鈥淥ur business is growing and we bought over a million dollars鈥� worth of Louisiana cattle for Louisiana consumers in the last four months. We鈥檙e not buying Mexican or Midwestern beef. We鈥檙e buying the cattle you see on the side of the road on your way to the grocery store. We harvest the animals, process the beef, and keep the revenue in the state.鈥�
The first student to graduate with 海角社区E鈥檚 new Associate of Science in Agriculture degree will be Lane DeVillier in fall 2022. An avid hunter and fisherman originally from Eunice, DeVillier initially enrolled at 海角社区E with a broader science focus, but have since switched to agriculture as a stackable degree toward a bachelor鈥檚 in biology from 海角社区 of Alexandria.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not buying Mexican or Midwestern beef. We鈥檙e buying the cattle you see on the side of the road on your way to the grocery store. We harvest the animals, process the beef, and keep the revenue in the state.鈥�
David Billings, co-founder of Coastal Plains Meat Company and U.S. Army veteran
鈥淚鈥檇 like to be a wildlife biologist and work with Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries one day,鈥� said DeVillier as he accidentally reeled in a turtle while fishing catfish for Lent by Bayou Courtableau last month. 鈥淚 really like this new ag program, because if something goes wrong later in physics or chemistry, I will always have my ag certification and can work as a crop adjuster or consultant. I honestly wish I could have focused on agriculture from the start.鈥�
About 85% of Louisiana farmers do not have a college degree. But that鈥檚 not true for David Billings and Chip Perrin of Coastal Plains Meat Company in Eunice, Louisiana, who both have bachelor鈥檚 degrees and also are military veterans (Army and Marine Corps, respectively) with work experience in the oil and gas industry. They recently partnered with 海角社区E to support the college鈥檚 new agricultural education programs as they鈥檙e looking for interns and highly skilled graduates to hire. 鈥淚 wish 海角社区鈥檚 new program existed when I was coming out of the Marine Corps, because I probably would have done it,鈥� Perrin said.
鈥� Photo courtesy of Coastal Plains Meat Company
海角社区E鈥檚 agriculture focus and partnerships with nearby farms aren鈥檛 entirely new, however. Students have been able to take classes in soil science, horticulture, and more, and 海角社区E Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine has spent decades restoring Louisiana land as traditional Cajun prairie, including for cattle grazing. Cajun prairies support biodiversity with native flora and fauna, provide more carbon credits than forest, and prevent flooding. Although 鈥渄ry,鈥� Cajun prairies are considered wetlands by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Their rich soil can act as a sponge, allowing rainwater to 鈥渞un on鈥� (or in) instead of 鈥渞un off.鈥� Vidrine has also helped establish pocket prairies to prevent flooding and provide sanctuary for pollinators, including on the 海角社区E campus.
Together with his wife Gail, Vidrine runs Cajun Prairie Gardens outside their Eunice home as a science experiment, living museum, and prime example of prairie gardening. Their neighbors, Vernon and Justin Fuselier, father and son of Fuselier Farms, adopted their approach. They recently measured more than 15 times more carbon in their prairie soil where their cattle graze compared to the rest of their land, where they farm rice and crawfish.
鈥淐ajun prairie can be profitable and give you both wetland mitigation credits and carbon credits.鈥�
海角社区 Eunice Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine
鈥淔or years, Vernon would drive by on the way to his house and see me and Gail out here, working,鈥� Vidrine recalled. 鈥淭hen, one day he stopped. 鈥榃hat the heck are you all doing?鈥� That鈥檚 how it started.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e used to people driving by and cussing at us, 鈥楥ut the damn grass!鈥欌�� Vidrine continued. 鈥淧eople have landscape amnesia; they don鈥檛 realize this is what this area looked like, except for the last hundred years. Cajun prairie can be profitable and give you both wetland mitigation credits and carbon credits. All plants capture carbon from the air, but while trees store the carbon mostly above ground, grasses and wildflowers move the sugars, which are carbons, underground. They build massive root systems, like an underground forest.鈥�
Justin and Vernon Fuselier of Fuselier Farms definitely did not expect the 鈥渟illy little prairie grass experiment鈥� they started two decades ago with help from Malcolm Vidrine to 鈥渃hange everything we do around here.鈥� Initially, they established a few grasses and wildflowers to help with their quail, chukar, and pheasant hunting operation. Then, they added prairie for grazing.
The first student to graduate with 海角社区E鈥檚 new Associate of Science in Agriculture degree will be Lane DeVillier this fall.
鈥� Photo couresy of Lane DeVillier
鈥淲e started small; hunted on one side, had cattle on the other,鈥� Justin Fuselier said. 鈥淏ut the more we learned about natural grass lands, the more it took us on a journey. We went from a conventional mindset to a total focus on soil health, biodiversity, the best nutrition for our cattle, and native plants. That snowball never quit building.鈥�
Fuselier Farms now direct-markets its own grass-fed beef, chemical-free crawfish, and regenerative agriculture (鈥渂ecause you can鈥檛 say 鈥榦rganic鈥� unless you鈥檙e certified organic鈥�) medium-grain white rice.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making a better living,鈥� continued Justin Fuselier, who studied horticulture at 海角社区E before getting his bachelor鈥檚 degree at 海角社区 College of Agriculture in Baton Rouge in 2003. 鈥淚t makes sense, doesn鈥檛 it, to use nature鈥檚 abundance instead of using like a mining approach. While conventional agriculture tends to be extractive, regenerative and sustainable agriculture maintains healthy soils and the natural energy flow in which we can harvest from the excess side of the equation. It has transformed the legacy of our family.鈥�
While restoring the Cajun prairie, Vidrine continues to teach biology at 海角社区E five days a week, even if he鈥檚 technically retired. His colleague, biology professor Ren茅e Robichaux, appreciates the many inroads 海角社区E students now will have into agriculture careers.
鈥淪tudents don鈥檛 always realize how many opportunities are out there for them,鈥� Robichaux said. 鈥淓specially, how many different jobs and skill sets you can have in agriculture. Through our new ag degree and industry-based ag programs, student will see that we鈥檙e not educating them for the past鈥攚e really are educating them for the future.鈥�
鈥淚t makes sense, doesn鈥檛 it, to use nature鈥檚 abundance instead of using like a mining approach. While conventional agriculture tends to be extractive, regenerative and sustainable agriculture maintains healthy soils and the natural energy flow in which we can harvest from the excess side of the equation. It has transformed the legacy of our family.鈥�
Justin Fuselier of Fuselier Farms in Eunice, Louisiana
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This news story was featured in 海角社区鈥檚 free research publication, Working for Louisiana, where you can learn more about how work on every 海角社区 campus impacts residents and industry in the state and beyond.