Published May 21, 2009
By Matthew Weaver of the Capital Press

Two Pacific Northwest institutions have teamed up to provide a four-year production agriculture degree.

Participating are Pasco, Wash.-based Columbia Basin College and Oregon State University's agriculture program at Eastern Oregon University in LaGrande, Ore.

Columbia Basin College agribusiness program instructor Kerrin Molton said students take basic courses such as soils and horticulture at the Pasco school, then transfer to the university for more specialized courses.

The program is in its second year at the college, with several students looking toward transferring into the animal science or crop production options at the Oregon university. About 35 students are in the program, Molton said.

"It's really important the students don't waste any time," she said. "If they know they're going to transfer to a four-year university to get a bachelor's degree, the community colleges can lay out their course work."

When the students transfer, they've taken the equivalent of students at the university and jump into the specialized courses, Molton said.

The program helps to keep students working in local farms around the Columbia Basin region. It provides a venue for students to enter production agriculture and replace workers who are retiring, Molton said.

Most students have a paid internship with a sponsor, who also pays for scholarships. The community college is looking to expand its sponsorship and scholarship program, Molton said.

Cary Green, assistant dean and head adviser for Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences, said the main interest has been in the crop and soil sciences major in LaGrande.

The program represents an opportunity for students to receive training in those sciences, Green said. It's common practice for students to first attend a community college and then transfer to a four-year college.

"The advantage of the particular program we're discussing is it provides a four-year degree ... in a geographic area close to the Columbia Basin area," he said.

Students have the opportunity to go to other locations after completing their education at the Pasco university, Green said.

"It's a solid program academically, plus the LaGrande area is fairly close to the Pasco area," he said. "That was appealing to the folks we talked to at Columbia Basin."

Similar programs exist, but Molton said the union between the two colleges in unique because of its seamless nature.

Molton would like to see more agreements, for anybody with an interest in any of the agriculture industries in the Columbia Basin of Washington.

Oregon State University met with the community college May 14 to formalize agreements.

Molton said the next step is considering other pathways through the community college for the university, as well as for Washington State University and the University of Idaho.

Talks are under way, she said.