About the IRRA

By establishing and cultivating partnerships with regional businesses and organizations, the IRRA aims to strengthen support for Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) programs at Minnesota State University Mankato.

The IRRA assists in identifying applied research opportunities for faculty and students. The IRRA assists in promoting AFNR programs to potential students. The IRRA is a conduit for industry partners to communicate regional workforce needs to the University in order to prepare students for future career success.

In 2016, Minnesota State University applied for and was granted official status as a Non-Land Grant Agricultural School. This was in response to University Administration hearing from students and from regional industry partners that wanted an “Ag Program” at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The IRRA was launched in September 2019 with the hiring of Jeremy Geske as Director. Since its inception, the IRRA has been gathering input from external partners and worked to establish an external advisory board.

The Director is charged with developing a strategic plan. In addition, the Director has collaborated with several faculty on grant applications geared towards strengthening AFNR programs at Minnesota State Mankato, as well as efforts to promote these programs to prospective students. Several faculty from multiple colleges who had an interest in Agriculture-related fields formed an AFNR Affinity group. This group meets periodically to collaborate on research grant opportunities and to set the curriculum for Agricultural Sciences majors and minors.

In the Spring of 2020, the College of Business began offering a minor in Agribusiness and Food Innovation. In the Fall of 2020, the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology began offering a major and a minor in Agricultural Sciences. Refer to the links tab for more information on these programs. Minnesota State University, Mankato has added several new faculty with expertise in soil science and other AFNR disciplines.