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Aug 22, 2023

Building knowledge: Agriculture industry, education partnership yields results

Agtegra’s Huron Agronomy & Innovation Center Location Manager Joe Airheart aids in classroom instruction as a class of Mitchell Tech’s Precision Ag Technology students build a planter during lab. How

Agtegra’s Huron Agronomy & Innovation Center Location Manager Joe Airheart aids in classroom instruction as a class of Mitchell Tech’s Precision Ag Technology students build a planter during lab.

How many college students can say they built an entire planter during college?

Students in Mitchell Technical College’s Precision Agriculture Technology program can now say they have, thanks to a partnership with Agtegra Cooperative’s Innovation Center. The partnership started last fall on the school’s campus in Mitchell, South Dakota

Starting with a 24-row Harvest International planter bar, students equipped the planter with a Precision Ready 9000 series row unit, hydraulic hoses, vacuum fans, Yetter SharkTooth Row Cleaners with Residue Commander, vApply Base In-Furrow Starter System and Precision Planting products DeltaForce (automated downforce control system), FurrowForce (closing system) and vSet2 with vDrive (seed meter with electric drive system). They use the same technology employed at Agtegra’s shops.

“This is a real-world project that Agtegra’s Innovation Centers do regularly, so if our students go directly into the precision ag field, they’ll be a step ahead of everyone else because of this experience,” said Devon Russell, program director and instructor of the Precision Agriculture Technology program at Mitchell Tech.

Building planters is nothing new to Joe Airheart, Agtegra Agronomy and Innovation Center location manager in Huron, South Dakota. Having been with the cooperative in a variety of roles since 2008, he has been working directly in the precision technology field for the last 11 years. He and his team at the Innovation Center install precision hardware in equipment ranging from planters to sprayers, liquid fertilizer systems and more.

Airheart has sat on the Precision Agriculture Technology program advisory board at Mitchell Tech for the past nine years. In this role, he provides the program with industry insight and aids in idea development for program curriculum. This connection to the program helped kickstart the idea of incorporating a part of the Innovation Center’s business into Mitchell Tech’s classrooms. After a conversation at a career fair between Airheart and Russell, the planter build project came to fruition.

“Devon has always wanted to bring his students up to Huron for a day so they can see what we do here, but that would have been such a small window for students to really see everything we do,” Airheart said in a news release. “This project collaboration allows students to gain hands-on experience and be a part of a project from start to finish.”

Agtegra’s Huron team drives to Mitchell to provide instruction and guidance during the build and assists students with quality control checks once completed. Service manager Braxton Steffen, assistant manager Patrick Wetzel, equipment technician Stacey Eddy and Airheart have collaborated with Russell on classroom instruction.

“What excites me the most is the opportunity to give the Mitchell Tech students real-life, hands-on experience with precision equipment,” Airheart said.

Students within the program have appreciated the skills they have learned from the planter build. Student Carter Robertson is excited to use these skills on his family farm located near Parker, South Dakota.

“My favorite part about the planter project is seeing how fast something like this can be put together when you have a whole classroom working on it,” he said. “All the trades I’ve been learning at school will get me ready for troubleshooting in the field and on the farm.”

For students planning to farm after graduation, the planter build has helped equip them with insight on how they can implement technology back home.

“My favorite part about the project has been getting to put together a planter from scratch and seeing how the Precision Planting technologies work together,” said Kaden Klumb, a student from Ethan, South Dakota.

Around 30 students played a part in building the planter during the 2022-2023 school year, which was completed this spring and later sold to a farmer. Now, a new planter bar is on Mitchell Tech’s campus, ready for students to start work.

“This type of project is not something we could do every year or replicate on this large of a scale without this partnership,” Russell said. “We really appreciate Joe and Agtegra for bringing us this opportunity.”

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