Warren County Community College is in line to get nearly $980,000 in federal funds to support its innovative new training in the latest food processing techniques thanks to Rep. Tom Kean Jr., who recently visited the expanding WarrenUAS program. Kean is seeking the funding in the fiscal year 2025 budget to develop robotics and artificial intelligence training and implementation even further in his district.

As a member of the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Kean requested the funding for the college in this year’s appropriation process to support improvements to the existing Agricultural Education and Training Center facilities for students learning the latest vocational agriculture and culinary studies at Warren.

 “I’m pleased to support a project such as this that builds development of efficient new approaches for our farmers while offering the latest educational opportunities at Warren County Community College for county residents, all while stimulating technological advancement that can benefit various sectors in the region,” Kean said.

The project is the brainchild of local entrepreneur and farmer Richard Cotton, who has been a leader in finding ways to make the rich northwest New Jersey farmland even more valuable with new thinking about agriculture, technology and social trends.

Warren, meanwhile, has been on the cutting edge of precision agriculture with its drone and robotics training through WarrenUAS, and is continuing to develop agriculture and technology offerings by meshing the two to address various stages of food production.

“We will continue to find new ways to increase yields through artificial intelligence and precision agriculture, but we also must work hand-in-hand with our local agricultural producers like Richard to develop and get more product to market at competitive levels that both sustain existing farms and encourage the broadening of future opportunities,” said Warren President Dr. Will Austin.

Cotton said young people have long been discouraged from agricultural careers, but these new technological advances coupled with concerns about supply chain limits and climate modifications are creating a reality where farming and food production can offer exciting careers and be among our nation’s most important high-tech industries.

Austin noted that Rep. Kean has been willing to carefully study the college’s plan and give it support as a way to improve educational opportunities and support the local agriculture industry.

Warren now is developing an automated food-processing science and food innovation program to offer students cutting-edge skills in the growth, processing and distribution of food, linking its acclaimed drone and precision agriculture program. Plans also call for it to be linked to a project Cotton is developing that would create an innovative center for food processing in Warren County.

“The WarrenUAS program is recognized not only for its ability to generate drone professionals, but in its mission to bring robotics from science fiction into practical real-world applications effectively,” Austin said.

Its work involving drones and robotics in agriculture and food processing will allow farmers to much more efficiently assess and treat their land and crops and handle other functions through to distribution.

Cotton expects Warren and its students will help with the design and development of the new food processing facility and then be able to use it to learn about the field and explore innovations.  

“Hands-on experience like this bridges the gap between classroom learning and practical application, providing opportunities that can be transformed into valuable real-world skills,” Kean said after seeing the WarrenUAS facilities and discussing the plans.“This funding would provide students with the necessary resources and training in vocational agriculture and culinary studies, helping to foster skill development and workforce readiness in these fields.”

He thanked Warren President Will Austin for the opportunity to review the program first-hand and meet with students and said he “looks forward to getting this funding across the finish line.”

“We were honored to welcome Congressman Kean to our robotics research facility, where we reviewed our past work in precision agriculture and discussed our plans to automate food processing,” Austin said. “By collaborating with local farmers, local elected officials, and the Congressman, we aim to develop a cutting-edge food science innovation center for Northwest New Jersey.” 

Cotton said the funding would be used to build Warren’s Agricultural Education and Training Center and for the instructional end at the new facility he is planning, which he hopes will begin construction next year and be constructed by 2027.

Dr. Austin says his goal is to have students graduate who understand safe and efficient robotic and AI use, coupled with the fundamentals of farming and the way the two mesh. Beyond that, he hopes to offer training in new ways to handle food production with new techniques – and even deliver it more efficiently.

“We have built a structure where cutting-edge research in precision agriculture can take place – where our students and people working in agriculture can find new ways to use this technology,” he says. “But I want our students to have an opportunity to access this food production and processing sector with the newest skills using the latest technology.”

Cotton, whose family has been in the county for five generations, has seen the area farmland shift over time, moving out of production as development grew and being overtaken by commodity farming that produces largely corn and soybeans as feed for animals, at facilities often located out of the region.

“We don’t produce food and that had several ramifications, especially for young people who might be interested in farming, but not on huge plot of land where one person was overseeing growing commodity products” he said.

He sees a younger generation’s interest in technology and all aspects of food production dovetailing with the interest in creating more sustainable, technology-driven farms that produce food for the region and big nearby markets.

“We have preserved the land in many areas, but how do we preserve agriculture. Creating smarter, more efficient and sustainable farms not only offers a good business model, they are potentially a magnet for the young people who are interested in agriculture and food production but find nothing for themselves in the way farming is too often done today,” Cotton said.

In the same way every other facet of our lives is moving fast, so is agriculture, and Cotton says, “there is a bright future for the sector in this county and Warren County Community College by partnering to train and support the next generation of farmers and farming.”