Lake Land Agriculture Division Wins National Recognition

Lake Land College Agriculture Division in Mattoon is one of only six programs nationwide that received the 2017 National Association of Agricultural Educators Outstanding Postsecondary Agriculture Program Award. The award was presented at the NAAE annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. The instructors are Ryan Orrick, Allen Drake, Ryan Wildman, Anthony Reinhart, Russell Neu, Robert Miller, Jordan Rauch, Mark Niemerg, and Dyke Barkley.

The Lake Land College Agriculture Division provides students with the opportunity to enter into a variety of agriculture majors based on their area of interest, as the division offers 12 programs designed to prepare students for workforce and transfer opportunities. In the 2017-2018 academic year, 283 students were enrolled in the Agriculture Division.

At Lake Land College all students pursuing an associate in Applied Science in Agriculture complete a work based experience project known as a Supervised Occupational Experience. Supervised Occupational Experiences serve as a key educational element of instruction. Students will complete 26 weeks of on the job training with a chosen agribusiness or production enterprise. This experience allows for students to learn experientially while gaining both college credits and wage earnings 

In addition to the traditional Supervised Occupational Experience, Lake Land College is committed to providing students with opportunities to train the next generation of agricultural educators through the Growing Agriscience Teachers Grant program. This grant is awarded by the Agricultural Education Line Item in the Illinois State Board of Education budget. The Lake Land Agriculture Division was granted $14,000 in the 2018 fiscal year to conduct the program targeting high school juniors, seniors, and Lake Land College students who are interested in becoming an agriculture teacher in the future.

The Agriculture Division at Lake Land College divides their partnerships into two categories Agricultural Education and Advocacy or Business and Industry. From the secondary agricultural education perspective, they have created partnerships with local agricultural educators as well as sectional and district agricultural education programs.

The Agriculture Division hosts and coordinates numerous Sectional and District FFA Career Development Events and Leadership Development Activities for chapters upon request. In addition to hosting these events they also host an “Ag Update” for secondary agriculture teachers throughout the state of Illinois. During the event there are workshops presented on areas such as horticulture, agricultural mechanics, soil science, and agricultural business.

From the Business and Industry perspective they have created partnerships with companies such as John Deere and Precision Planting. John Deere provides their program with equipment, supplies, manuals, and training aid, which gives their students the opportunity for training on the latest agriculture technology John Deere has to offer. John Deere also works with Lake Land College Agriculture Division to create an internship experience that allows students to gain experience learning about the equipment, performing inspections, and completing repairs on their machines.

The Outstanding Postsecondary Agriculture Program Award is sponsored by Bayeer as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

NAAE is the professional association for agricultural educators with over 8,000 members nationwide. Its mission is “professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service.”  The NAAE office is located in Lexington, Ky.