At the OCIA/OGI Meeting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Farm Reporter Maci Carter had the chance to visit with the Oklahoma State University Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources Vice President and Dean Dr. Jayson Lusk.
Regarding the construction of the New Frontiers Ag Hall, Lusk said thanks to the help of many generous donors, the building will be ready for classes next fall.
“Construction is nearing completion,” Lusk said. “We should be finished by the end of July, and we have classes scheduled for the new building in August. I was in the building on Friday, and I can tell you it is moving along nicely. They are already putting furniture in some of the buildings.”
Lusk also talked about future improvements to the agronomy research stations at OSU.
“Now that New Frontiers Ag Hall is near completion, it allows us to look toward the future and see what is next,” Lusk said. “High on our priority list is the agronomy farm and the research that happens out there. If you look for example, in Oklahoma, about 70 percent of the acres planted to wheat in Oklahoma are planted with a variety that was created at Oklahoma State University at the agronomy farm. Unfortunately, many of those facilities were built in the 1940s and are aging. If we want to position ourselves for the future and continue to have the impacts that we need for the future, we are going to continue to make some investments out there.”
Lusk said the board of regents at OSU has approved the beginning of the process to improve the agronomy farm, so he is looking forward to what is next.
Oklahoma State University unveiled a new strategic plan close to two years ago, Lusk said, and some of those priorities within the plan involve the Ferguson College of Agriculture.
“We need to ask where the areas are where we really need to focus our attention and our resources so we can be well positioned for the future,” Lusk said. “We are at the early stages of that, doing an environmental scan and starting to really ask those questions of what are the top three or four things we can do and really be world-class.”
