Rep. Doris Turner, center, at the opening of the new Lincoln Land Community College's Kreher Agriculture Center. | Photo Courtesy of Doris Turner's Twitter
Rep. Doris Turner, center, at the opening of the new Lincoln Land Community College's Kreher Agriculture Center. | Photo Courtesy of Doris Turner's Twitter
Lincoln Land Community College's recently opened Kreher Agriculture Center offers students an opportunity to explore the latest in agriculture technology.
Funded through a gift from the late Charles and Irene Kreher, the $7.3 million facility aims to bring agriculture students, faculty, classrooms, laboratories together at a single location, according to FarmWeekNow.com.
Illinois State Sen. Doris Turner (D-Carlinville) was at the opening for the new center.
"Excited to attend the opening of the Kreher Agriculture Center!" Turner wrote in a May 6 Twitter post. "The Kreher Center will provide support and opportunity to a new generation of agronomists, animal nutritionists, land surveyors and more within their cutting-edge classrooms, laboratories and gathering spaces."
Visitors at the state-of-art center can learn how to operate drones, a John Deere combine and a RoGator sprayer and use virtual simulations to try out arc and MIG (metal inert gas) welding.
Lincoln Land's president said that he hoped the new center would inspire new students from nonfarm backgrounds to seek careers in agriculture.
There are currently 140 full-time students enrolled in agriculture at Lincoln Land. Approximately two-thirds of those students are expected to transfer to four-year colleges for with the remaining students opting to earn two-year associate degrees.
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