Friday, May 6, 2022
CapitalPress.com 11
WSU students graduate STEM strong for today’s ag
Growing up amid the
high-tech industries of Puget
Sound, Makayla Raap felt
the call of her family’s agri-
cultural roots.
When it came time to
choose a college path, Raap
followed her interests in ag,
science and technology to
Washington State Univer-
sity, joining an interdisci-
plinary program that broad-
ens graduates’ skills in
STEM.
Short for “Science, Tech-
nology, Engineering and
Math,” STEM is increas-
ingly important to feed our
modern world.
“A lot of people don’t
realize it, but STEM is a big
part of agriculture,” Raap
said.
From plant breeding to
the systems that sustain-
ably grow, harvest and
market crops, America’s
22-million-person-strong
agricultural
backbone
depends on science, data and
technology.
“As agriculture changes,
the need keeps growing
for employees that under-
stand the science and engi-
neering that support new
technologies like genetic
engineering, robotics and
artifi cial intelligence,” said
Drew Lyon, interim chair of
WSU’s Department of Crop
and Soil Sciences.
“Regionally and nation-
ally, there’s demand for
graduates who are grounded
in the fundamentals of mod-
ern agriculture, and adapt-
able to the new technologies
that are rapidly enhancing
productivity and effi ciency,”
said Tadd Wheeler, lead
instructor in Raap’s major
— Agricultural Technology
and Production Management
WSU
Makayla Raap is majoring in Agricultural Technology
and Production Management at Washington State Uni-
versity.
WSU
For Jordan Culpepper, STEM means the biochemistry and microbiology studies that
help her understand what’s happening in Washington vineyards and wine cellars.
(AgTM), part of WSU’s
Agricultural and Food Sys-
tems (AFS) program.
One of several cross-dis-
ciplinary programs encom-
passing nearly a dozen
majors within WSU’s Col-
lege of Agricultural, Human
and Natural Resource Sci-
ences, AFS prepares gradu-
ates for careers in the food
system, economics, organic
and sustainable agriculture,
and ag education: from farm
operators and entrepreneurs
to research and computer
scientists,
environmental
specialists, analysts, accoun-
tants, human resource pro-
fessionals and marketers.
Job placement is very
strong for WSU STEM
graduates, with many career
fi elds having more open
positions than candidates to
fi ll them.
Proac�ve Financial Planning
by L. Jake Carpenter, VP Investor Rela�ons
We are in the midst of some very unusu-
al �mes. For starters, Russia is warring with
Ukraine, gas prices are at an all-�me high,
supply chain issues con�nue to haunt us,
infla�on is pushing up at an alarming rate,
and to top it all off, there is a significant
amount of market vola�lity. I’m not here
with a message of doom and gloom; the
fact is we have seen this before in some
form or another. Let’s remember that with
every challenge comes opportunity!
It’s important to be proac�ve in your
financial planning. You need a strategy,
tailored to your unique situa�on, that will
navigate a turbulent economic environ-
ment. If you’re uncertain about where to
start, I’m here to partner with you and walk
you through a proac�ve process that will
help answer your ques�ons and concerns.
Chances are, you are s�ll ac�vely manag-
ing the financial instruments that generate
your income. For example, you may be run-
ning a farm, managing rental proper�es,
running a business, or all the above! One
important element of a proac�ve financial
plan is the strategic posi�oning of your
financial assets. You need to be able to
reposi�on your assets to create a passive
income stream when you reach re�rement.
For example, if your farm is worth
$5,000,000 you need to get that $5,000,000
into a posi�on to provide passive income. If
your business is worth $2,000,000 then you
must figure out how to reposi�on that
$2,000,000 into a place where it can pro-
vide growth. If your rental por�olio is worth
$3,000,000 you must figure out how to re-
posi�on it to provide tax advantages. And
you must do all of this while minimizing
your risk.
“We need to increase food
production by 70% to feed a
growing global population,
so there are lots of oppor-
tunities for innovation,”
said Holly Henning, WSU’s
Swantz Distinguished Pro-
fessor of Teaching and
Learning. “AFS teaches sci-
entifi c reasoning, commu-
nication and systems think-
ing to help our students to
understand the many sys-
tems that impact our ability
to feed the future.”
For senior Jordan Cul-
pepper, STEM means the
biochemistry and microbi-
ology studies that help her
understand what’s happen-
ing in Washington vineyards
and wine cellars.
“I learned the nitty-gritty
of winemaking, everything
from basic to really complex
chemistry,” she said.
Graduating this spring
with a degree in Viticulture
& Enology, Culpepper will
spend the summer studying
wildfi re smoke’s eff ects on
wine, then join a Northwest
winery to undertake cellar
responsibilities.
In
AgTM,
Raap
researched a new technol-
ogy in every one of her
classes. She has learned how
to run a farm business, build
and repair hydraulic sys-
tems, and wire a building for
electricity. This summer, she
jumps feet fi rst into a data
analytics internship on her
way to a STEM career.
“My dad is so proud of
me,” she said.
• To learn more about
agriculture and STEM
education at the Future
CAHNRS Cougs website at
cahnrs.wsu.edu.
WSU
Electrical wiring is among the many skills off ered in the
STEM program at WSU.
WSU
AgTM students learn how to run a farm business, build
and repair hydraulic systems, and wire a building for
electricity.
Proper planning is important when it
comes to reposi�oning those assets. First,
you may need to find a buyer for your busi-
ness, farm, or rental por�olio. This takes
�me and may have challenges. Your plan
will need to address how to manage the
capital gains tax that results from the sale.
A 1031 exchange is not appropriate in this
situa�on because it requires the purchase
of “like-kind” property. You already know
that you want to get away from managing a
farm or rental property and create passive
income. So, you will need to consider
something other than a 1031 exchange to
address the capital gains tax.
The good news is, that there are alterna-
�ves to using a 1031 exchange. One
strategy you might consider is an Install-
ment Sales Trust. The Installment Sales
Trust allows you to sell a business, farm,
rental property, and or other highly appre-
ciated asset and recapture the capital gains
tax to create more income and growth for
you and your family to enjoy. An Install-
ment Sales Trust is a specialized trust that
is set up and ini�ated by a team of profes-
sionals.
Once the capital gains are recaptured
within the trust, a financial advisor will
work with you to reposi�on those
assets to create the safety, income,
and growth you need. If you choose
to reach out to Equilus Capital Partners,
we’ll work with you to ensure that all of
your assets are working together to address
issues like market vola�lity, infla�on, and
taxes.
We’re the educators; you are the
decision-maker. It is �me to make be�er
decisions by knowing all of your op�ons!
Call to learn more. (509)665-8349.
EquilusCapital.Com