THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO TRAIN AND PREPARE FUTURE AGRICULTURAL SCIENTISTS TO COPE WITH CHALLENGES IN FOOD SECURITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL PROPOSAL SEEKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF FUTURE AGRICULTURE SCIENTISTS WITH SKILLS TO ADDRESS FOOD SAFETY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE. THIRTY STUDENT PARTICIPANTS FROM SOUTH TEXAS COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP RESEARCH AND ENGAGE IN EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING WITH REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS THAT HAVE GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE: CITRUS GREENING DISEASE OR HUANGLONGBING (HLB) AND CATTLE FEVER TICKS (CFT). THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH HANDS ON TRAINING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THESE MAJOR AGRICULTURAL THREATS AND HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP CRITICAL SKILLS NEEDED TO GENERATE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL MEET THESE AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN FOOD SECURITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE US. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE 1) TRAINING STUDENTS IN FIELDWORK, MONITORING, AND ANALYSIS OF LAB SAMPLES TO DETECT AND CONTROL THE PATHOGENS RESPONSIBLE FOR HLB AND CFT; 2) TRAINING STUDENT TO UNDERSTAND THE PLAUSIBLE RESPONSES OF SPECIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE; 3) INSTRUCTING STUDENTS IN DATA PRESENTING SKILLS THROUGH SCIENTIFIC WRITING WORKSHOPS. THE POTENTIAL IMPACT AND OUTCOME IS TRAINING STUDENTS WITH THE TOOLS TO ENGAGE IN GRADUATE STUDIES OR TO JOIN THE AGRICULTURE WORKFORCE WITH A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING AND ADVANCED KNOWLEDGE OF NOVEL APPROACHES NECESSARY TO PROMOTE CONTINUED FOOD SECURITY AND CLIMATIC CHANGE. STUDENTS WILL PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS IN SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES AND PEER-REVIEW PAPERS.