search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Education


Simulated learning


Future farmers at one community college are getting out of the classroom and into real-life situations.


By Mary Elizabeth Williams-Villano


Photo credit: Northeast Community College I


n the precision agriculture program at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska, students learn cutting-edge irrigation and agricultural


techniques through virtual simulations of real-life farming scenarios. That’s just one of the reasons it’s considered one of the best precision ag programs in the country.


Hands-on learning is a high priority at Northeast. “We’re not just plastering pictures up on a PowerPoint,” says Christopher Burbach, precision agriculture instructor. While students get plenty of grounding in theory, the emphasis is on putting it into practice. That’s where the Precision Agriculture Simulator comes in.


Thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation, Northeast was able to purchase the simulator, a large trailer loaded with computers, a compact utility tractor, a two-row precision planter that can change hybrids or varieties on the go, a small-scale sprayer and a Kubota utility task vehicle. The equipment, computers and monitors are all used in the simulations.


Here’s how a typical simulation works. A YouTube video shows a student and a teacher in the UTV, which is equipped with auto drive and GPS. As the student and instructor watch a monitor running a planting simulation, the GPS maintains straight lines and ensures proper seed coverage as they move through the virtual field.


“We’re not just plastering pictures up on a PowerPoint.” — Christopher Burbach, precision agriculture instructor


30 Irrigation TODAY | April 2019


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40