Imagine this scene. A truck pulls a large trailer into the parking lot at Crothersville High School in Crothersville, Ind. It’s brightly colored, with the words Ivy Tech Mobile Agriculture Classroom on the side. David Harrell steps out, along with two students from Ivy Tech’s Columbus campus. Harrell is an ag instructor there.

He’s greeted by Linda Myers, Crothersville ag teacher, plus eager students. Harrell lets down the end panel, and students walk inside. The day’s lesson is about crop scouting. Counters are set up with equipment at five different stations. Students can work in groups of four, taking sweep nets to a nearby field, collecting insects and using tablets to help identify them.

Until recently, this scenario was just a dream. Now it’s reality. The mobile classroom’s inaugural trip was to the National FFA Convention. Soon it will be headed to high schools across Indiana.

“I can’t wait for it to pull in here,” Myers says. “We’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Myers is on the advisory board for the Ivy Tech-Columbus ag program.

The mobile classroom is stocked with state-of-the-art equipment that many ag programs can’t access. “It will help teachers give their students experiences they can’t get otherwise,” Myers says.

Richard Beckort, Jackson County Extension ag educator, is chairman of the trustees for Ivy Tech-Columbus. “Agriculture is more about technology today,” he notes. “The Ivy Tech Mobile Agriculture Classroom will help high school ag students experience technology that will help them later.”

Fully loaded

Harrell, the mastermind behind the mobile classroom, thought carefully about what to include in the classroom. He selected equipment that will teach students usable skills for today and tomorrow.

“We’ve got 10 small engines onboard, so we can pair up a class of 20 students, with each pair working on an engine,” Harrell says. “If the lesson is about grain grading, we’ve got a state-of-the-art grain tester like you might find in an elevator. Then we have five sets of grain grading buckets so students can break into groups of four, and each group can grade samples at once.”

READY TO USE IT! Linda Myers, vo-ag instructor in Crothersville, Ind., is excited about the Ivy Tech-Columbus mobile classroom. Behind Myers is Tom Daugherty, former ag teacher and Ivy Tech-Marion ag instructor.

Soil sampling and testing is another basic skill that isn’t done like it was 20 years ago. Harrell can put everything else in cabinets underneath the two long benches and set up counters with soil testing equipment. Students can go to a nearby field and pull samples.

He also equipped the trailer with a 360 SoilScan from Yield Center 360. Right now, it’s used to test samples for nitrates to determine nitrogen needs.

“If they add other testing capability, we will add it, too,” Harrell says. “We want to teach basic skills, but also introduce students to cutting-edge technology.”

Myers had it right. The Ivy Tech Mobile Agriculture Classroom was a long time coming, but it will be a great tool to help equip the next generation. That includes both those who will work in ag-related skilled trades and those who will push the envelope on developing the next breakthrough piece of ag equipment.

Congratulations to Ivy Tech-Columbus and its ag team. And watch for a brightly colored Ivy Tech trailer on a road near you!

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