海角社区 Eunice Puts Louisiana鈥檚 Future Farmers on the Fast-Track
April 06, 2022
Transforming Agricultural Education in Acadiana
Through 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 in two years or less.
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. Drones and data analytics are increasingly used by farmers to optimize inputs and harvests.
海角社区E鈥檚 agriculture focus and partnerships with nearby farms aren鈥檛 entirely new, however. They also bridge modern with traditional technologies. Professor Emeritus Malcolm Vidrine (pictured with his wife Gail below) 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. Vernon and Justin Fuselier, father and son of Fuselier Farms in Eunice, Louisiana, used Vidrine鈥檚 approach to make their entire operation鈥攃attle, fowl, rice, crawfish, and pigs鈥攃hemical-free, sustainable, and more profitable.
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�
selected Vidrine as Louisianan of the Year for Conservation in the January-February 2022 issue. He鈥檚 technically retired, but still teaches five days a week at 海角社区E.
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
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. So, 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�
Chip Perrin, co-founder of Coastal Plains Meat Company and U.S. Marine Corps veteran