Wireless cameras, solar panels, and robots would seem at home in a laboratory, but one local school is putting all that tech to the test on the farm.
School and a brand new agriculture center opened this week at Northcentral Technical College. Staff say students will hit the books, But they're also hitting the buttons to control a new robotic cow milking machine. They are trying to prepare the kids for the farms of the future.
"The average age of a milk producer in Marathon County is 59 years old," said NTC President Lory Weyers. "We need to have the next generation of people coming up because we all drink milk, the majority of us anyways, so we are committed to making sure that stays strong."
The students can earn agriculture associate degrees. Majors include dairy science, agrobusiness, and how to be a vet tech. The hope is a student-run operation gives them the chance to learn the skills to run their own farm.
"Some kids grew up on a farm but their parents never really let them get into it," said Farm Manager Jordan Mueller. They didn't get to call the shots, they didn't get to plant the corn, they had jobs, management jobs, but they didn't have exposure to anything and now they get to get that."
Mueller just graduated last spring. When the students aren't there he's the one feeding the animals, cleaning, and caring for the crops. But. one thing he doesn't have to do is milk the cows. When they're ready they head to the robotic milker which automatically takes care of the job. Another machine even drops food based on a cow's weight. The different machines are an aim to illustrate the diverse opportunities in farming.
"They need to understand that it's an exciting career," said Dean of Agriculture and Sustainability Vicky Pietz. "From working in an office somewhere to a feed mill to working in production agriculture, planting, spraying crops, there's tons of jobs to fit everybody's unique style."
Staff say they've already got 31 full-time students this year, but there's still more room. Northcentral Tech is even getting some more new tech. A wind turbine and solar panels will power wireless internet. They also plan to attach cameras to cows, which will be viewable to local students online.
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