When the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture was founded in 1968, the state’s farmers and ranchers were practicing time-worn techniques used for generations.

Four decades later, it’s a lot different.

Today’s farmers use tractor-mounted GPS systems to guide planting and the harvest. They use computer programs to monitor yields. They grow alternative crops such as switchgrass for use as a biofuel. They use smartphones and social media to connect with one another and with consumers intent on “buying local.”

It’s Larry Arrington’s job to make sure the institute keeps up with change.

He became the institute’s chancellor in September, replacing Joe DiPietro, now the university’s president. Arrington, 58, left a 30-year career as a teacher and administrator at the University of Florida to take the UT job, which pays $270,000 annually.

He stopped by The Tennessean during a recent swing through Nashville, updating business reporter Duane Marsteller on the institute’s activities.

Tell us about the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and some of its recent activities.

The Institute of Agriculture is the heart of the land-grant mission of the University of Tennessee. It’s comprised of four units. It has two colleges. The first is the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. There are over 1,000 students in the college. The other college is the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The other two units reach statewide … one is Ag Research. (It) further researches economic development of agriculture and natural resources in the state of Tennessee. It’s done in Knoxville, but work is also done in two research institutions across the state. That’s important because the agriculture changes as you move from East to Middle Tennessee to the western edge of the state, so we have faculty who specialize in those areas.

The final piece is the cooperative extension system. We have an office in each of the 95 counties. The purpose of that is to bring the knowledge of the University of Tennessee to local communities to help them solve problems, to contribute to economic development, contribute to youth development (and) contribute to families.

The ag college is growing, and growing more diverse. Most people don’t believe it, but we’re by far majority female now — both in the ag college and the College of Veterinary Medicine. I think it reflects the changing opportunities that are out there. More female students are interested in careers in science and technology, and they’re drawn to this field more than ever.

What are some of the challenges in terms of food safety in this post-9/11 world?

We have a center (the Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness) that’s located in the College of Veterinary Medicine; it’s funded through the Department of Homeland Security. We’re actually a major hub for providing training to individuals who work in the food safety and food security systems. It’s a real national security issue — protecting the food supply in this country.

Of course, having the correct inspection system in place to monitor is more of a challenge, especially with things coming in through ports from other countries. It’s very difficult to stay on top of that. Most of our new diseases and insects have come in through ports, and we have to stay on top of that. You never know when something’s coming at you in a hurry, so the inspection system is very critical.

The institute just opened a new research dairy in Blount County. What will the center be focusing on?

It’s called the Little River Animal and Environmental Unit. It is a modern, state-of-the-art dairy facility … that allows us to do the most current research on dairy animals, on production systems (to help) our dairy people.

Also, it is one of the most modern environmental research centers. We can do cutting-edge science there related to water quality and the interface between agriculture and the environment. We’re located right on the river. We’ve got monitoring systems in place. We’ve got years of data already in place about the environment there. We want to make decisions about all agriculture based on science, and this facility is magnificent for allowing us to do that.

We’ve had a grand opening. It’s not populated with animals yet — but will be. It can hold up to 250 animals, so it’s a good scope and size for us to be able to do the research that needs to be done. There will be animal science faculty involved there, and there are already engineers involved and soil scientists out there. We’re excited about it.

What kind of research will be done there, especially as it relates to the environment?

A lot of it is related to animal waste. It’s got a new system built there that does a lot of recycling of water so you’re not pumping new water. It’s got the capability of removing water and putting in a holding system so you can do research on how long it needs to be in digesters and break down. (Basically) when is it clean enough to be spread out on cornfields for irrigation purposes?

More importantly, (we can) measure that field — where it’s spread out to make sure none of it has left that field to seep into the river and the environment. You want to make sure you’re capturing all of that in the crops. We’ve got historical data about the soil and the river there, so we can tell immediately if anything’s escaping and adjust the system.

What’s the status of efforts to promote more biofuel production and usage in Tennessee?

The emphasis has been on the use of switchgrass for use in the production of biofuels. The thing about that, you’re not using food crops. You’re not competing with food or with corn to produce ethanol, so that’s why the state has gone down that road.

We do have a pilot processing plant (in Vonore, Tenn.). It uses corn cobs or corn waste, but it currently is being gradually converted over to using switchgrass. Now, the scientists over there are trying to figure out the best way to process the switchgrass from the farmers’ fields — over 5,000 acres of switchgrass are in place right now.

It takes about a year and a half to get the switchgrass from planting to really producing a crop. We’ve proven that we can grow switchgrass well in Tennessee. It’s a low-input crop. You don’t have to fertilize it a lot.

We’re moving from the research stage and getting-farmers-started stage, and now we need to move into the commercial stage. The Du Pont Co. is behind that effort — they’re looking to build a commercial plant. When they build the plant, they’re going to need 25,000 acres of switchgrass, but we don’t need 25,000 acres of switchgrass until they build the plant. So, we’ve still got to work through that.

How is Tennessee agriculture faring in a world of corporate/mechanized farming?

First of all, agriculture’s still the backbone of Tennessee’s economy. It is huge, (with) over a $60 billion economic impact, so agriculture still is very important here. But it is changing. We still have many small family farms in this state. As you move west you get into more of the big farms.

Agriculture here is being characterized more by what we call precision agriculture: GPS-driven tractors, GPS-driven fertilizer applications. You know when you’re picking soybeans or corn or whatever crop, you know right at that minute right where you are in a field and what the yield is. You can constantly measure that. You can also use precision agriculture to apply fertilizer very precisely without hurting the environment. Agriculture has become much more a high-tech industry.

How much of an issue is it to get younger generations to either continue the family farming tradition or enter agricultural careers?

It’s an issue all across the country. There are a number of young people who are going back to farming. The majority of the young people who are coming to the University of Tennessee to study agriculture are coming from an urban environment, so it’s changing the way we prepare students.

We’re having to give them more hands-on experiences where they can understand the broad scope of the agricultural industry. Even young people who are going into agricultural sales or marketing or manufacturing, they still need to experience the full breadth of the agriculture industry because they haven’t had those experiences.

What efforts are under way to diversify Tennessee’s agricultural products?

We have a center called the Center for Agricultural Profitability. It’s a joint effort between the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Farm Bureau. The goal is to help diversify the ways people can make money (from) agriculture — including helping them go beyond just producing something and start turning that into value-added products to boost profits. Included in that is teaching people how to grow new things and find niche markets.

What are your chief goals as chancellor?

I’ve got three key goals. One: I want us to be known for excellence in everything we do.

Second, we’re going to be relevant and responsive to the people who rely on us and that starts with our students and goes out to every corner of this state. We want to make sure we understand the needs of Tennessee and respond to those.

My third goal is to make sure our organization is listening. We can’t be relevant and responsive unless we have our ears out and we’re talking to people about how we can contribute.

One of the things I plan to do is start a series of regional advisory committees where I’m going to ask people to come to the table a couple of times a year. We’re going to sit down and find out what they’re feeling, ask what their pains are. We will include stakeholders who provide funding for our organization. I just want to make certain that we’re transparent and listening.