Linn County, Iowa — As the agriculture industry continues to grow, so does the demand for agricultural workers, and Kirkwood Community College is purchasing additional farmland to allow students in its agriculture program to receive more hands-on training.
Kirkwood's agricultural science program is one of the largest two-year agriculture programs in the country.
With enrollment growing, the college is purchasing 80 acres of farmland to give students more field experience, adding to the 400 acres Kirkwood already owns for agricultural sciences. The land is located at 2800 Wright Brothers Blvd E, just two miles southeast of the main campus.
“It just made sense. If you take a closer look, it was something that was already impacting a portion of our land. With enrollment growing, it was just the right place, the right time,” said Brad Kinsinger, dean of Kirkwood's College of Agricultural Sciences and Hospitality Arts.
Holding agricultural production courses on-site allows students to receive direct, hands-on training: for example, students have operated a combine harvester in the classroom and can then use the same machine in the field during harvesting.
“We're really looking at utilizing this land as an expansion of our learning lab, and we're fortunate to have an increased enrollment and with that, a need for more hands-on learning,” Kinsinger said, “so students in our Agribusiness, Agricultural Science and Diesel programs will get some first-hand hands-on use experience, but who knows how other students might benefit as well.”
The $1.4 million purchase is expected to close on Nov. 15, and the College of Agriculture hopes to have students on-site by this spring.