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Wabash Valley Ivy Tech campus opens new precision ag facility

By SUSAN HAYHURST

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The official opening of Ivy Tech Community College – Wabash Valley’s Precision Agriculture (PA) and Diesel Technology Training facility on August 8 has been described as “a grand slam” by Sen. Joe Donnelly.

“This new facility is a labor of love for Ivy Tech, the community and the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce,” the Indiana Democrat said.

Work began on the college’s new 26,000 square-foot Center of Excellence in January. The laboratory space houses a wide variety of agricultural equipment incorporated with precision technologies and new diesel technology equipment. These hands-on training options also offer lecture and computer lab space.

The Terre Haute PA center of excellence is the only one in Indiana, and there are only 4-5 post-secondary universities throughout the country offering specific precision ag degrees. Lea Anne Crooks, chancellor of the Terre Haute campus, is thrilled with the student interest and for donors who made the center possible.

“Students from throughout the area and state, and even into neighboring states, are excited about the new programs. We are very grateful for our donors who have brought us to this milestone: the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s $1.2 million grant to retrofit this space for the center, the Vigo County Redevelopment Commission which funded the diesel technology equipment, Bane-Welker Equipment LLC, the USDA, Waltrin Truck Repair and the Harlan family of Terre Haute,” she said.

The goal of the PA program is threefold, according to David Will, dean of the campus’s School of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Applied Science, and the center’s project manager.

“Precision ag is most commonly known as a farm management approach that uses advanced technology to ensure the soil and crops receive exactly what they need for optimum health and productivity,” he explained. “The ultimate goal of PA is to maximize profitability, sustainability and protection of the environment.”

Will said the future of ag is promising. “John Rosene, chair of our ag program, relished the research we did and worked with colleagues throughout the state to develop the robust curriculum. An industry survey went out to over 360 businesses in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. The overwhelming response provided the momentum to continue towards this education avenue.

“Eighty-six percent of the respondents indicated hiring an additional three to four PA technicians within the next five years. Job search engines showed hundreds of ag-related job openings in our communities, with the Department of Labor showing the median PA technician pay at $23 per hour,” he added.

Darin Kohlmeyer, precision ag program chair and Federal Aviation Administration-certified in drones, is spearheading the three PA career pathways with 34 credit hours/three semesters respectively: agriculture equipment service technician, precision agriculture specialist and precision agriculture technician. An associate of applied science is 60 credit hours/five semesters.

The second pathway is diesel technology. Will noted there are three stackable credentials in the diesel program: associate of applied science (60 credit hours/five semesters), a diesel heavy truck technology technical certificate (34 credit hours/2-3 semesters), and a certificate in diesel electronics controls (18 credit hours/two semesters).

“By design, we embedded the same courses where appropriate in both the PA and diesel curriculum,” said Will. “These economies of scale have proven beneficial for students in both programs. According to the Department of Labor, there will be annually 1,196 job openings projected through 2020 in diesel technology and the average median salary is in excess of $21 per hour.”

He noted although the lab curriculum focuses on crop production, PA is also used heavily in animal production. “Animal production utilizes PA to monitor animal feed consumption, feedlot movement, temperature, lameness, milk production, meat composition and quality and weight gain without any human intervention. That may be our next endeavor.”

“Ivy Tech is putting community back in community college” is the mantra Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech statewide, uses often. Will said the PA and diesel technology programs are great living examples of that effort.

“While the program is brand-neutral, we are grateful for Randy Pigg from Pigg Implement in Sullivan, Indiana, when he reached out to Ivy Tech years ago and shared the future of ag and the skills required in his organization to be successful,” he explained.

And “Phil Bane at Bane-Welker Equipment worked with us on their original ‘Red Program,’ which was the curriculum for an ag technician program.”

Mars Harlan, a farmer in Vigo County, was looking for a way to remember his late parents and decided on the new PA program. “Several generations of our family were pretty much all farmers. I was looking for a way for people to remember my parents, so I talked to John Rosene and he showed me information on the precision ag program.

“I said, ‘That’s it,’ and we got involved from there. Precision ag is everywhere now, driving technology like drones, GPS, auto-steer, et cetera. It’s a top-notch program and benefits us locally, regionally and even nationally,” he said.

Pursuing a precision ag specialist certificate, Austin Smith from St. Louis, Mo., is hoping to transfer his Ivy Tech experience, along with his four-year degree in environmental studies from Hendricks University, to his family farm.

“I’m learning applications, how to fly drones, use state-of-the-art equipment and take advantage of available technologies. This program was the first PA program that popped when my parents and I Googled it,” Smith explained.

8/16/2018