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West Virginia University at Parkersburg hopes agriculture programs, farm keep growing

By Brett Dunlap 6 min read

PARKERSBURG -- West Virginia University at Parkersburg is investing in its Riverhawk Farm to build and develop agriculture programs at the college.

The 23.83-acre farm near the main campus entered into a partnership around two years ago with Mister Bee Potato Chips to grow potatoes for the company and entered partnerships with other businesses and area farmers, said Brady Whipkey, vice president of facilities for WVUP.

"We are just looking to expand on that and take it to the next level," he said.

The university recently hired John W. Riggs as its director of agriculture.

Since returning the farm to operation a couple of years ago, university officials said they began growing potatoes before they were fully ready and did not fully abate all of the Johnson grass, considered to be a weed, that has overtaken parts of the farm. Upgrades to water systems, among other improvements, also are needed, they said.

Torie Jackson, WVUP vice president of institutional advancement, said students are interested in agriculture-related programs at the college.

"We have already had students express interest to our recruiters who are looking for a degree in Agribusiness," she said. "We know there is a population out there who are interested."

Plans for the farm include new facilities.

"We are going to take a year off from those partnerships to be able to address those things so we can provide better services to them," Whipkey said. "While we are handling those issues with the soil, we are also going to look at the infrastructure."

A farmhouse, a building used for chickens and egg production, a pole barn and other smaller structures are on the farm.

"We will have some of the older buildings demolished and build a new, more effective building where we can handle everything from classes to storage and processing and have one building to handle the full scope of what we hope to be able to provide at the farm," Whipkey said.

The college Board of Governors recently approved taking $500,000 from the school's reserve funds for the farm. The university also will receive a $570,000 federal grant.

"We will be using that money to get the farm up and running and where we want it to be," Whipkey said of the university's short-term and long-term goals for the farm which includes developing certificate and degree programs relating to agriculture.

A goal is agriculture and agribusiness degree programs at the college, Riggs said.

"The way to transition into that is to offer a few classes per semester and build up to that point where we are ready to do a four-year degree and we will be able to transition into that," he said.

Currently, West Virginia University in Morgantown, Potomac State College, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College and Sheppard University all have agriculture degree programs.

"Eventually, we would like to have an agribusiness degree program here," Riggs said. "The way to transition into that is to offer a few classes per semester and build up to that point where we are ready to do a four-year degree and we will be able to transition into that."

Until then, as they build their program, the classes they offer will be able to transfer to the other schools in the state with agribusiness programs.

Riggs said they want to develop livestock and crop production in the future plans for classes. The soil has been ripped and prepared and pesticides and herbicides will be applied to get the ground ready to plant in the next season.

Whipkey said they will work with local vocational agriculture programs in schools and 4-H to give local students the insight they need.

"There is a big pool of FFA students in the surrounding area," Riggs said. "I have been talking to some of the teachers in the area and they are very excited about this program and getting it up and running."

Riverhawk Farm will offer additional opportunities for students to get the experience of working on a fully operational agribusiness operation in addition to eventually getting a degree, he said. The program can teach all aspects of agribusiness.

In the coming months, Riggs wants to work on getting the ground ready and eliminate the weed infestation they have had so when the time comes to plant potatoes again, they will hopefully get a better yield on the potato crop.

Getting the ground ready can go hand-in-hand with workforce education, he said.

The school also is applying for grants that would allow them to get into other crops, Riggs said.

Plans are to tear down the chicken coup and some smaller structures. Whipkey said they will be meeting with an architect soon to discuss the kind of facility they want to build. They hope to begin demolition this summer and have construction underway by the fall.

For the time being, the school plans to keep the farmhouse and pole barn for classroom and for storage of equipment. After the new structure is built, those also will be demolished.

Eventually, the potato production will be on 10-12 acres and will need a "pretty substantial building for storage," Riggs said.

"We want to get that facility up and running and build it up from there," he said.

Whipkey said the college wanted to keep as much of the operation in one facility as possible. Depending on how costs shape up, building might be in phases, he said.

Whipkey credited the support of Sens. Joe Manchin-D, W.Va. and Shelley Moore Capito-R, W.Va., local lawmakers and Mary Anne Ketelsen, CEO of Mister Bee Potato Chips with providing the support for the farm in getting the work started to get it back up and running again.

Riggs brings a background in agriculture to WVUP, having been raised on a beef farm in Pleasants County raising Hereford and black angus cows. He went to WVU and earned a degree in agribusiness.

He eventually became the agriculture director and an adjunct professor at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield and was involved in agriculture workforce development in the Eastern Panhandle.

"I'm happy to be home and to give my knowledge of agriculture back to the Mid-Ohio Valley and hopefully build it up for the students here and for future students at WVUP."

Riggs would like to have an open house at the farm for the community.

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.

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