Flint Hills Technical College administrators are gratified by the start of a new program.
Precision Agriculture is into its first semester of operations, and the program was the lead focus on KVOE’s monthly Tech Talk on Tuesday. Instructor Coy Horton says the goal is to make sure students are ready for the changing technology — if they are comfortable — and the program reflects major shifts towards analytics in agriculture.
Precision Agriculture developed after nearly a decade of conversations. First-year students will take classes in agriculture computer applications, spatial analysis or GPS, soils and crop science. Second-year students will go into data analytics, commercial drone ground school, remote sensing applications and ag economics. Horton says the students now in the program have the same passion he had as a student.
College President Dr Caron Daugherty says program development follows lengthy and widespread demand.
Daugherty says the college is working to buy property near the college’s Welding Technology Center for a new Precision Ag headquarters. The board is working to submit a Community Development Block Grant of up to $1.5 million for property at 615 Overlander, less than a quarter-mile from the South Campus at 3701 West Sixth, but has a contingency in place as the process continues. On Monday, the college’s Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a better-than-$30,000 drone to help with operations, and Daugherty says the program is also benefiting from a grant through the Patterson Family Foundation.
