Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana has many enticing programs for students in the Region, but one program that deserves a spotlight is the agriculture program.
The agriculture program at Ivy Tech Community College engages students in hands-on activities both in and out of their classrooms while preparing them for real-world agriculture careers. The program’s focus is primarily in the areas of livestock production, agronomy, agriculture equipment, and agribusiness. Ivy Tech Community College promotes nine different certificates, two technical certificates, and two associates degrees for agricultural studies.
Tim Stoner is the adjunct faculty member who teaches the agricultural studies classes at Ivy Tech Community College. He has taught at Ivy Tech for almost nine years and has served on the Regional Trustee Board. Outside of teaching college agriculture courses, Stoner and his family operate a commercial farm in Porter County, Woody-View Farm.
Typically, Stoner teaches classes about safety. In particular, he has taught classes on egg and grain safety.
“These classes help the student understand what they don't know and how this missing information could hurt them,” said Stoner. “If you look at a farmstead or a farming operation, it looks bucolic and pretty, but there are lots of dangers that someone has to be aware of. If you're not aware of those dangers, you could be walking into a minefield.”
Stoner often brings experts into the classes to guest lecture, which closely aligns with how Ivy Tech Community College prides itself on being a college that closely connects its students with their desired industries. To enhance the student experience, the agriculture program has partnerships with industry organizations such as John Deere, Case IH, Ceres Solutions, Co-Alliance, Beck’s Hybrids, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto Company, Belstra Milling Company, Fair Oaks Farms, and other local growers, producers, and agribusinesses. Students will spend a significant amount of class time completing hands-on activities with the ability to have one-on-one time with instructors.
Students learn through these experiences with experts and under the guidance of Stoner that entering a farm should require similar precautions to working in a factory.
“You should be wearing proper clothing and you should be wearing equipment appropriate to the task at hand. You need to be aware of infrastructure on the farm and where the dangers lie in the operation of equipment,” said Stoner. “We review statistics of injuries and deaths occurring on farms. Oftentimes, the safety problems that happen on farms are because farms are not really regulated in a way that other industries are. So, we gain efficiency by not being regulated, but then also we can pay a price for that in terms of injury, especially if we're not following safety procedures.”
The knowledge gained from learning about farm safety and regulations through an agricultural degree or certification at Ivy Tech Community College benefits the industry, but students also see an immediate advantage by enrolling in the program. The most pressing advantage is that students are exposed to jobs that are in high demand and actively hiring.
“There are lots of opportunities within the industry that are not being filled,” said Stoner.
Stoner points out that many people pursue farming because they grew up on farms, but he stresses that farming isn’t just for those students. Farming offers an opportunity to everyone who is willing to build their talent.
“Students can take advantage of programs and classes to enhance their careers and develop a career, and agriculture is a huge industry. Outside of production agriculture, there are lots of technologies,” said Stoner.
Farming requires more than just hands-on farmers; engineers, mathematicians, entrepreneurs, electricians, and more are also incredibly important. Ivy Tech Community College prepares students to take on these roles within the agriculture industry.
Stoner has had students begin their college experience through Ivy Tech Community College as a traditional student and go onto lead admirable careers, but he has also seen many non-traditional students join the program and experience success as well.
“We had a non-traditional student who was going back to college. She decided that our program would enhance her technology associate degree. Just adding these two classes – the controls class and the welding class – she received a certificate that helped propel her career,” said Stoner. “We also had a high school student who was homeschooled and took classes through our program. I think this has made him feel like he was getting some hands-on instruction and a head start on his future.”
The agriculture program through Ivy Tech Community College is just one of the many programs working to support students as they develop skills suited toward their careers. The college focuses on the needs of both current and prospective students.
“Ivy Tech tries to meet the needs of the community,” said Stoner. “We try to be as nimble and reactive as you possibly can to meet the needs of the job for both the employers and employees.”
For more information about the agriculture program at Ivy Tech Community College, visit www.ivytech.edu/agriculture.
