University Training Programs are helping build Nevada’s next generation of Agricultural Professionals and Farm Operators. While some Students are basking at the beach this Summer, others, such as University of Nevada, Reno Student Wyatt Diaz, are choosing to toil in the soil. Diaz is working at the University’s Desert Farming Initiative as part of the Student Summer Farm Crew. “I wanted to spend my Summer working at the farm because it’s giving me a real hands-on experience in the kind of work I want to do in my career and I am able to apply my education to the real world,” said Diaz, an Agricultural Science Student. “My goal is to one day own and operate a farm.” Diaz and the rest of the Student crew will be harvesting crops, managing irrigation systems and gaining hands-on experience in Northern Nevada agriculture. The program, part of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources’ Experiment Station Unit, is expanding applied training in organic fruit and vegetable production as Nevada’s Agricultural Industry faces workforce shortages. Besides the Student Summer Farm Crew, the Initiative has hosted more than 25 Student Interns since 2019 through Academic Internships providing immersive, work-based learning in diversified Organic Production Systems. Students in these internships, as well as those in the paid Farm Crew positions, gain experience alongside Staff on hoop house production, field crops, orchard management and plant propagation.

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