Missouri’s Bootheel leads the state in agriculture production, and starting this fall, students interested in an agribusiness degree will be able to start and finish their program close to home.

Southeast Missouri State University’s regional campuses in Sikeston, Malden and Kennett now offer a four-year agribusiness degree program specializing in row-crop production. Southeast’s Department of Agriculture worked very closely with agribusiness leaders and alumni in the Bootheel in developing the program. Courses are taught onsite by both Southeast professors as well as local business leaders who will teach some of the specialized courses such as ag finance and ag sales.

“The placement of the row-crop program at Kennett, Malden and Sikeston is critical to the Department of Agriculture. The Missouri Bootheel will become the most productive agriculture region in the world, and Southeast will be a big part of that,” says Southeast Department of Agriculture Chair Mike Aide.

In addition to the new program, the Department of Agriculture is investing its David M. Barton Scholarship endowment at the regional campuses to provide affordability to the students.

Aide says many Southeast Missouri students interested in this type of program have gone to out-of-state institutions. Now that they have the opportunity to learn in Missouri, the hope is they will stay in the region after graduation and contribute to Missouri’s economy.