Manchin, WVSU's Cage discuss possibility of adding agriculture to school

At a roundtable meeting Tuesday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and West Virginia State University President Ericke S. Cage discussed the possibility of adding an agricultural school to the university.

With more than 200,000 farms and over 200 farmer’s markets, West Virginia has an “incredible need” for an agricultural workforce, according to Cage.

“We are in a position to help fill that void,” he said.

The university, a historically Black school founded in 1891, had a Department of Agriculture until 1957, when its land-grant status was taken away by the state government. The status was regained in the early 2000s, but an agricultural school was not reestablished.

WVSU does have several agricultural research programs and extension offices offering initiatives supporting agriculture, families, youth and businesses around Southern West Virginia, said Dr. Ami Smith, vice president, and dean and director, for agricultural research and extension.

The school also received $45 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research, including some for full-time scholarships. Additionally, students can get degrees in fields such as plant and soil science, biology, agribusiness or chemistry with an emphasis in agricultural topics.

With an agricultural school, the university could add degree programs specifically for agriculture.

“We already have the resources. We already have the expertise,” Cage said. “The school allows us to take this to the next level.”

Manchin said he will talk with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack about the feasibility of creating a school and possible next steps.

Federal funding for the program would have to be matched by the state, Manchin said. Cage said he also would look to private entities for funding.

The school would be housed in a building on campus that was formerly used for the West Virginia Schools for the Colored Deaf and Blind.

“West Virginia has a tremendous climate for agriculture. We should be doing more and more of it, and we can, but you have to have people that have that education and understanding of what we’re doing and why we’re doing and how we can do it better,” Manchin said.

According to a news release from the school, West Virginia State is the only land-grant institution in the country without an agriculture school.

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