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Future ag professionals want real-world experience

The president of the Western Illinois University Ag Mech Club says he’s confident the next generation of ag professionals want to be involved.

Owen Bull, a sophomore originally from Illinois City, tells Brownfield, “I’d say, especially if you’re going into the ag world, people are looking for hands-on experience.”  He says, “They don’t want to sit in a classroom and look at 10-year-old slides all day. They want to get up to the farm and get their hands dirty.”

He says educational experiences crafted with that in mind have helped shape his career path.

“All of our labs and stuff that we do within our classes are all hands-on out at the farm.”  He says, “In high school, I always wanted to work on engines and do all that, work with tractors, was always interested in it.  So, when I came here to Western, I was really happy to see that there was a club that offered to work with those things.”

Bull says engaging today’s students with hands-on learning opportunities is critical to developing the industry’s workforce of the future.  

The WIU Ag Mech Club hosts one of the largest student-run farm shows in the country this weekend.  Bull says it’s the 54^th year for the event.

“There’s going to be over 100 booths at the show, a display of farm tractors, machinery, ag sales and service, ag management, emerging ag technologies, livestock and crop supplies, conservation and ag structures.”  He says, “There will also be a variety of craft vendors upstairs in Western Hall.”

The show runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8.

AUDIO: Owen Bull – WIU Ag Mech Club