UI Extension program gives robots to high schools to recruit students into ag-tech careers

Plastic parts, rubber tubes and wires littered a table in a botany classroom at Aberdeen High School.

University of Idaho Extension educator Tom Jacobsen, Fremont County, told a group of students to start building, and they quickly began gathering and snapping together matching pieces.

Jacobsen and Heidi Codling, from the Idaho Falls-based College of Eastern Idaho (CEI), have been visiting high school STEM classrooms throughout the region to introduce Ag XRP, a hands-on program promoting careers in agricultural technology. Students are challenged to assemble robots from kits, using a finished model as a guide.

Each participating teacher receives a kit with components to build a fully automated irrigation robot. The robots include a probe that tests soil moisture and activates a water pump when the soil is too dry.

“Our goal is to help build confidence with the tools they are likely to encounter in agricultural careers,” Jacobsen said. “By engaging with technology early, students begin to understand that agriculture needs skilled problem-solvers who can operate, maintain and improve these systems.”

Beyond raising awareness about high-tech jobs in agriculture, classroom visits serve as recruitment opportunities. Codling is leading efforts to launch an agricultural program at CEI by 2027, working closely with U of I’s Department of Agricultural Education, Leadership and Communications to align content for transfer students.

New ag curriculum

Jacobsen and Codling are also collaborating on writing new plant and soil sciences curriculum for use by Idaho high school agriculture teachers.

The previous curriculum, last updated in 1991, predates major advances in agricultural technology such as GPS-guided tractors and variable-rate input applications. The new curriculum will include instructions to 3D print parts needed to build projects associated with each lesson.

Codling authored the first module, which includes 150 pages about agricultural cybersecurity and is on a fast track to being edited. Jacobsen is pilot testing a 200-page soil science module and developing additional modules on precision agriculture and plant growth.

Versatile teaching tools

Before students began assembling their robot during Jacobsen’s early December visit to Aberdeen, Codling spoke about cybersecurity’s role in protecting farmers from hackers. Jacobsen followed her remarks with a talk on farming technology’s evolution.

“Instead of just learning about technology, students get to work directly with it — exploring how it functions, testing ideas and learning how to troubleshoot and fix problems when things don’t work as planned,” Jacobsen said.

Extension will post online videos and lesson plans detailing additional uses of the robot, including guidance on adding new sensors and programming to complete other tasks. For example, robots could easily be upgraded to conduct soil heat mapping or measure how plants affect air quality.

In June 2026, Jacobsen and Codling plan to host a competition at CEI for students who participated in their robotics classes. Students will create posters showcasing lessons learned, challenges they’ve overcome and improvements made to robot design, programming or software. Another activity at the competition will involve designing and 3D printing a simple machine to solve a farm-related problem.

Creating a unique program

Jacobsen began exploring robotics for agricultural education in 2023, partnering with Idaho National Laboratory to build FarmBot, a 5-foot by 10-foot robot capable of several farm tasks. He built a few miniature versions for classrooms using 3D-printed parts but faced software bugs and challenges with design complexity.

In early 2025, Jacobsen received a $10,000 Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission grant through the state’s Higher Education Research Council to develop the program in its current form. The funding supported a summer collaboration with Cornell University robotics and engineering faculty to create the simplified kit now used in classrooms. Jacobsen also purchased filament, two 3D printers and enough motherboards, motors, power cords, bearings and other parts to make several more kits, each costing about $100. Most structural parts in the kits are 3D printed.

The open-source robot design is already being used by 4‑H robotics clubs in New York and Wyoming, and Jacobsen plans to involve UI Extension 4‑H Youth Development clubs in Ag XRP.

“These robots take abstract concepts like soil moisture, automation and data collection and make them tangible,” Jacobsen said. “Students can see, touch and program what they’re learning.”