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Wisconsin’s technical schools help farmers keep up with technology

Farm managers and their employees are learning how to use new technologies. 

Layla Merrifield is the System President for the Wisconsin Technical College System.  She tells Brownfield the sixteen state districts have been furiously updating technology programs to meet the needs of farmers and the ag industry, “to make sure that we’re keeping up with artificial intelligence and the power that that technology can bring to things like soil monitoring and predictive maintenance on machinery. We’re of course, active in drone piloting courses.”

Merrifield says students from 16 to 60 are learning how to use new technology and the business and technical skills that have been used for many years. “Technology that might be a little bit older, you’re still going to find it at a technical college. We still want to train on those things and make sure that farmers that are still using the older stuff are served as well.”

Merrifield says the new technology is expensive and having it on campus wouldn’t be possible without the support of state and local taxpayers, and student tuition dollars.

AUDIO: Layla Merrifield, President of the Wisconsin Technical College System discusses training farmers and ag professionals on new technology with Brownfield’s Larry Lee