MSU’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute hosts grand opening

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The grand opening of the Agricultural Autonomy Institute at Mississippi State University took place on October 26, 2023.

The main focus is economic development within the state, but, it is also to lessen the burden that comes with farming jobs.

According to the institute, it is 87% harder to fill farming jobs than in previous years.

The overall goal of the department is to increase production and profitability within the industry and the state, along with developing research, workforce management, and adding technology with traditional machinery.

Director of the Agricultural Autonomy Institute Dr. Alex Thomasson said farmers finding labor is becoming more difficult due to the dangers and difficulties that come with the work.

“Mississippi State University is really well positioned I think for this whole effort,” Thomasson said. “We have multiple centers that are already doing work in autonomy. Some of those are dealing with ground-based autonomy, you know, vehicles, some of them are dealing with drones and that kind of thing. I think we’re going to serve as a nexus in agriculture at the center of all those autonomy efforts. So, I think we’re the perfect place to do all this work.”

The Agricultural Autonomy Institute expects to its mission grow in the coming years.

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