Since 1989, Prairie View A&M University’s (PVAMU) College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (CAFNR) has hosted an educational and community outreach booth at the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR). Known for its focus on youth and agricultural education, HLSR has been a staple of the Houston community since its founding in 1932. The 20-day event is family-friendly and includes a carnival with food, rides and games, shopping with hundreds of vendors, and live music and performances daily. HLSR Agventure is an experiential learning space for youth and adults to explore horticulture, honeybees, rabbits, birds, and other small animals, along with a hatchery for chickens, a comprehensive birthing center for dairy cows, pigs, lambs, and so much more. A live-action competitive rodeo series and concert with chart-topping entertainment round out each evening. 

“HLSR is our largest community engagement event of the year. Not only is it an opportunity to showcase CAFNR, but it is also another way that we share our commitment to being an 1890 land-grant university with a tripartite mission of academics, research, and extension,” states TeKedra Pierre, Director of CAFNR’s Information, Impact and Sustainability Center (IISC). “Our goal at HLSR is to bring awareness to the many programs we offer and connect with people from all over the world. We have experiential learning-based academic summer programs, workshops and events hosted by PVAMU Extension, and research projects from our Agricultural Reseach Center, including medicinal plants, goat reproduction, carbon sequestration, and precision nutrition. Through the educational and community outreach booth, we also represent PVAMU, providing information about all colleges, schools, and programs to future Panthers. We connect alumni with information about upcoming events, such as our upcoming Ag Day on the Hill activities taking place on April 19-20. 

Depending on the time of day, attendees could engage with CAFNR differently. During school hours, the booth featured activity books and pages geared toward our younger audience, while the evening hours showcased innovation and technological advances in the agricultural industry. This approach allowed everyone to enjoy the classic features of seeing us at HLSR while giving a glimpse into the future. On HLSR designated special days such as Black Heritage Day on Friday, March 1, CAFNR collaborated with the HLSR Black Heritage Committee, Houston Independent School District (HISD), and Kroger to bring new levels of engagement to middle school students. Pierre notes that “partnerships allow us to expand our reach to serve more people than ever before”. 

New features to the booth this year included a redesigned backdrop with 9th President Tomikia P. LeGrande’s focus to showcase Excellence Lives Here, rebranded materials with CAFNR’s new name (formerly the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences or CAHS), a hydroponic display with collard greens, orange and purple flesh sweet potatoes grown on the farm, and virtual reality (VR) headsets with content created by CAFNR’s own Agro-Innovation and Technology Center (AITC). Users could take a virtual tour of Governor Bill and Vara Daniels Farm and Ranch, which includes the Meat Science Center for Innovation (MSCI) and Poultry Center. “We debuted the VR headsets on select days at HLSR to get feedback from the community. The headset is user-friendly, engaging, and allows attendees to connect with our work in a new way,” said Pierre. 

In addition to the educational and community outreach booth, CAFNR provided goats from the International Goat Research Center (IGRC) to participate in the annual Celebrity Goat Milking contest. The contest is an interactive and fun way to showcase the superior quality of our goats and educate the public on goats as a livestock option. Students from the CAFNR Livestock Club brought home several trophies, including Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion in the Alpine dairy goat category. The students spend a lot of time learning animal behavior, forming strong bonds with the goats and other club members. By showing animals the students gain confidence, enhanced communication skills, and the opportunity to network with students from other institutions. 

HLSR was also an opportunity to soft launch the Agletics initiative, a new partnership between CAFNR and the PVAMU Athletics football program to bring nutrition education to student-athletes. This collaboration is a chance to highlight a recently approved master’s degree in nutrition science, the second new CAFNR graduate program launched within the past two years. Pierre reveals, “As a leader in nutrition programs such as Dietetics and Wellness in Houston, Agletics is where agriculture meets athletics to bring CAFNR research and nutrition support directly to student-athletes and show the correlation with performance on the field. The new MS in Nutrition Science will allow our undergraduate nutrition students to seamlessly transition into graduate studies, participating in research with our student-athletes. The Agletics program incorporates a cutting-edge area of research that will create exponential growth across our nutrition programs, attracting students from other majors to participate in cross-disciplinary research in a high-earning field. I anticipate that more student-athletes will want to pursue a degree in nutrition as the practical knowledge gained can enhance their overall athletic performance in college and contribute to post-graduate success. CAFNR is excited to be a part of the Spring football game on Saturday, April 13, and show another side of what we offer. I am looking forward to the Agletics initiative and an even bigger presence at HLSR next year”. 

CAFNR is proud to support the HLSR mission to provide agricultural education to youth and families in Texas and beyond. Special thanks to all volunteers including alumni, faculty, staff, and students that made this year’s educational and community outreach booth a success. Upcoming CAFNR events include the student-led CAFNR week on March 25-28, Ag Day on the Hill, an annual experiential learning event for K-12 students on April 19, and Family Fun Day on April 20. Ag Day on the Hill is free; registration is required to attend. Visit pvamu.edu/cafnr for more information. 

TeKedra Pierre
Director of Information, Impact and Sustainability Center (IISC)
tepierre@pvamu.edu