State awards $20M to several postsecondary institutions for workforce innovation including Northwest Missouri State

Governor Mike Parson announced that the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (MDHEWD) has awarded $20 million in funding to nearly two dozen postsecondary institutions to provide high-demand career training for new and underrepresented populations and to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture and supply chains.

Among the list of recipients is Northwest Missouri State University which will receive $1,235,000 through the Growing Missouri’s Dairy Industry Workforce emphasis. Northwest is planning an expansion to the dairy operation at the RT Wright Farm as well as enhancements at the Ag Learning Center involving the milk production.

The Missouri General Assembly appropriated the funding to MDHEWD for the Private MoExcels and Agriculture Innovation & Workforce grant programs during the 2022 legislative session. The grants are funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and were recommended in Parson’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal.

“These funds are yet another opportunity to help keep our economy moving forward,” Parson said. “These grants will allow Missouri colleges and universities to expand our workforce, particularly in entrepreneurship and other careers where we are seeing growth. In addition, the innovative work of these schools will not only educate more agricultural experts but will help us address the needs of Missouri’s number one economic driver.”

Other institutions receiving $2 million each were  State Technical College of Missouri Agriculture Technology Center for the Phase A, agriculture demonstration farm; University of Central Missouri for agricultural certifications to meet modern workforce and industry demands; Missouri State University for the agricultural innovation hub; University of Missouri national center for applied reproduction and genomics and Missouri University of Science & Technology for helping the agricultural workforce harness the remote-sensing data explosion which received $765,000.