Agriculture

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Whether you want to work the land, raise livestock or help others do it better, NDSCS is a great place to start.

Academic Options

The NDSCS Agriculture department began in 1976 to provide students training in mechanics and farm management. Keeping up with technology and current workforce demands, programs have evolved to include Ag Business, Animal Science, Farm Management, Precision Agronomy, Precision Ag Technician, Ranch Management and a 9-month Meat Processing certificate. These programs are designed to help students gain employment in a the Agriculture industry or to help prepare students to operate a farm or ranch in the future.

Class sizes are kept smaller to allow students to benefit from lab activities, personalized instruction, and classroom interaction. Multiple programs allow for students to choose from a wide array of elective options to reach their career goals. Students who choose to continue their education find their coursework transferable to other institutions.

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Ag Business
Ag Business

Ag Business focuses on core business concepts such as accounting, sales, management and marketing, while providing a diverse agriculture background.

  • Type: A.A.S. degree
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements 

Agriculture Applicator and Operations

Students who enroll in Precision Agronomy will seek employment m the areas of farm equipment operators. Typically, these jobs could be farm labor or applicators and operators for agronomy centers. Upon completion students will be prepared for their CDL testing, have their commercial applicator license and be ready to operate large agriculture equipment. 

  • Type: Certificate
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Agriculture Education

The Agriculture Education curriculum plan is designed for students who plan to continue their studies toward a bachelor's degree in agriculture from one of the area universities.

  • Type: A.A.S. degree
  • Locations: Wahpeton, Online, Combination
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Animal Science
Animal Science

In Animal Science you can choose between careers in diversified crop and livestock production, sales of livestock feed and supplies, and employment in a livestock operation.

  • Type: A.A.S. degree
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Farm Management
Farm Management

The Farm Management option focuses on farm management, record keeping and other agricultural topics such as precision agriculture, ag marketing, crop production, computerized records and soil fertility.

  • Type: A.A.S. degree (Agriculture degree sub-plan)
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Meat Processing
Meat Processing

The Meat Processing option is a collaboration offering between NDSCS and NDSU. Students who enroll in the Meat Processing certificate program at NDSCS will have the opportunity to gain skills in a high-demand career field.

  • Type: Certificate (Agriculture degree sub-plan)
  • Locations: Wahpeton, Fargo
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Precision Agriculture Technician
Precision Agriculture

Students who enroll in the Precision Agriculture Technician program will seek employment in the agriculture equipment industry. Students will find many challenging courses, including agronomic fundamentals, sales, data analysis, data management, electrical fundamentals, hydraulic systems, and more. 

  • Type: A.A.S. degree
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available
     

» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Precision Agronomy
Agronomy

Students who enroll in Precision Agronomy will seek employment in the agriculture retail industry. Course work is designed to provide instruction in crop production, soils, field crop scouting, precision ag, agriculture sales, and business management. Cutting edge agricultural technology is infused into this curriculum.  

  • Type: A.A.S. degree
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available
     

» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

Ranch Management
Ranch Management

The Ranch Management option is designed to provide the student returning to the ranch or diversified livestock operation with the management and production skills necessary to be successful.

  • Type: A.A.S. degree (Agriculture degree sub-plan)
  • Locations: Wahpeton
  • Cluster: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
  • Green Technology Available


» View Program Information & Admission Requirements

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Right now, there are more great agriculture career options than there are people to fill them, and the same goes for the future.

We’re helping our students jump into outstanding ag careers through hands-on experience with the latest information, advanced technologies and best management practices.

September 2018 - AM 890 AgNews Interviews NDSCS Ag Department Chair Craig Zimprich about land donated to NDSCS for a Land Lab. Click here to listen.

October 2017 - AM 890 AgNews Interviews NDSCS Ag Department Chair Craig Zimprich and NDSCS Associate Professor Dr. Anissa Hoffman about the new Ag Land Lab. Click here to listen.

 


 

NDSCS KOSEL FAMILY AGRICULTURE LAND LAB

In 2018, the NDSCS Agriculture department was gifted the lease for the NDSCS Kosel Family Agriculture Land Lab. This is a 90+ acre piece of land on the edge of Wahpeton. The acreage is used to demonstrate different crops, tillage, and management. Several courses in the Agriculture Department utilize this land and the data collected to create applied learning opportunities.

Tour Our Land Lab

Agriculture and Kosel Family Land LabSnap Content

 

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Agriculture Graduates from 2022-23 Academic Year - Includes Ag Business, Agronomy, Animal Science, Farm Management, Precision Agriculture and Ranch Management
Graduates Registered Avg. Beginning Annual Salary Reported High Annual Salary Placement Rate
44 $40560 $58240 95%

Rose Wendel Named Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar

Rose Wendel headshot
03-15-2024

Rose Wendel, a Liberal Arts Agriculture Transfer student at North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS), has been named a 2024 Coca-Cola Academic Team Bronze Scholar and will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation sponsors the Coca-Cola Academic Team program by recognizing 50 Gold, 50 Silver, and 50 Bronze Scholars with nearly $200,000 in scholarships annually. Each scholar also receives a commemorative medallion.

“The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation has a long history of providing financial assistance to outstanding students at community colleges,” said Jane Hale Hopkins, President of the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Phi Theta Kappa to make it possible for more deserving students to achieve their educational goals and support tomorrow’s global community leaders.”

Students are nominated for the academic team by their college administrators. Selection is based on academic achievement, leadership, and engagement in college and community service. “Rose Wendell is an excellent nominee,” said Jeff Hart, NDSCS Phi Theta Kappa advisor, “She is an outstanding student, was a member of NDSCS’s Wildcat Volleyball team that participated in the national tournament, and is active in the NDSCS Music and Theater programs.”

Rose and other Coca-Cola Academic Team members will be recognized in both local and statewide ceremonies. They will also be recognized internationally during Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention on April 4-6.

“We thank the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for recognizing these student leaders and for investing in their futures,” said Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner, President and CEO of Phi Theta Kappa. “Scholarships like these are integral to the success of these students in reaching their educational and career goals.”

North Dakota State College of Science Receives Transformational $500,000 Gift from Linda Kosel Patterson to Enhance Agriculture Program

Linda Kosel Patterson
01-10-2024

The NDSCS Alumni Foundation is thrilled to announce a significant donation of $500,000 from Linda Kosel Patterson, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to the advancement of agricultural education in the region. This substantial contribution is set to revolutionize the NDSCS agriculture program, establishing a state-of-the-art ag technology experience for current and future students.

Kim Nelson, Executive Director of the NDSCS Alumni Foundation, expressed profound gratitude, stating, “Linda’s gift towards the Kosel Family Agriculture Lab will have a positive, significant impact on farming families across the tri-state area for generations. Her generosity is a testament to her dedication to NDSCS and our students, equipping them with advanced tools, equipment, and technologies essential for innovative and comprehensive agricultural education.”

This donation follows a significant contribution from the Yaggie family in December, which enabled major enhancements to the NDSCS agricultural center, now known as the “Yaggie Family Agriculture Center.” The new “Kosel Family Agriculture Lab” will be a fundamental pillar of the remodeled and updated facility.

Linda Kosel’s history of support for NDSCS is longstanding and substantial. In May 2017, along with Mary Kosel, Linda’s mother, they facilitated the use of nearly 95 acres of farmland for the NDSCS Alumni Foundation. This gift created the Kosel Family Agriculture Land Lab used by all NDSCS Agriculture Programs. The land lab has been pivotal in doubling the NDSCS Ag Program’s student enrollment and has enabled the introduction of new associate degrees in Precision Agronomy and Precision Agriculture Technology.

Craig Zimprich, NDSCS Ag Program Director, reflected on the Kosel family’s enduring support: “The Kosel Family's contributions--including this latest donation and the establishment of our Agriculture Land Lab--are invaluable. They provide our students with the opportunity to translate classroom & lab learning into practical skills, using the latest equipment and tools.”

 

The Kosel Family Legacy

The Kosel family’s legacy in agriculture and education began with Richard and Mary Kosel, who started their farming journey north of Wahpeton in 1947. Their lifelong commitment to agriculture and education, along with their daughter Linda, has played a pivotal role in shaping the future of agricultural education at NDSCS.

The NDSCS community is profoundly grateful for the Kosel family’s continued support and partnership, which significantly enhances the educational experience and opportunities for our students in agriculture.

Ag students with awards

NDSCS Agriculture Program Students Excel at NACTA Conference

04-24-2023
The North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) Agriculture Program students had the opportunity to attend the NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Judging Conference in Modesto, California from April 12-15, 2023.

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NEW Ag programs available

NDSCS to offer two new Agriculture Degrees

02-07-2023
North Dakota State College of Science will offer Associate in Applied Science degrees in Precision Agronomy and Precision Agriculture Technician starting in the fall of 2023.

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College meat cutting programs start to fill up industry need

Student interview for AgWeek TV
11-07-2022

On the first day of their internship at a small town meat locker, Alissa Metzger and Grace Lamberson were breaking down a hog carcass to cut into pork chops, roasts, and other cuts and packaging up orders for customers.

Using the large saw was “a little scary, I’m not going to lie,” Lamberson said. But the experience is the culmination of her other course work in meat processing at the North Dakota State College of Science. "It all adds up and starts making sense,” Lamberson said.

Lamberson and Metzger are a couple of the first students going through the meat cutting program at the college. Meat cutting programs are popping up to help meet the demand for skilled workers in a field that has seen renewed interest, especially after COVID-19 forced shutdowns at major meatpackers, forcing farmers to scramble for help.

Metzger and Lamberson are coming into the program from the culinary side, not the ag side. “I wanted to actually learn, like, how you actually break down those big carcass animals down to what we eat and what is on our plate,” Metzger said.

The North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, and two Minnesota schools — Ridgewater College in Willmar and Central Lakes College in Staples — have new meat cutting programs. Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Dickinson State University in western North Dakota also are adding programs.

Craig Zimprich, department chairman for agriculture at NDSCS used the term “desperation,” from the meat industry looking for workers. He said he has gotten a lot of calls from employers looking for students. Some of them are local lockers plants hoping looking for someone who might be able to eventually take over the business in a few years Zimprich said the nine-month meat cutting program can turn into “truly a lifelong career.”

Zimprich said he also has gotten calls from livestock farms that are interested in doing more of their own processing and marketing. And if someone already has a degree, just the meat cutting portion of the program could be done in one semester.

Zimprich said the program can be tailored to meet the career of a prospective student.

Metzger is working in a kitchen at an elder care facility and said she already has some job offers but isn’t quite sure yet where she really wants to apply her skills. Her original plan was to open a bakery but “that’s kind of changed now,” she said.

The NDSCS campus is about 50 miles south of the North Dakota State University campus. NDSU already had a meat lab with cutting equipment, so NDSCS and NDSU partnered on a grant to start the nine-month meat cutting program.

Zimprich said the grant also provided some scholarship money, and the North Dakota Beef Council also is paying for two students to go through the program. The program is starting with five students but Zimprich said there is room for about 14.

Building programs

While NDSU already had a meat lab that NDSCS could access, other schools are taking different approaches as their programs get rolling. Central Lakes College is offering a one semester course that is all in-person classes taught in the evenings at the Staples, Minnesota, campus by Jess Feierabend.

The main Central Lakes campus is in Brainerd but Staples is home to the school’s ag program and meat cutting fits into that. “So we try to involve a little bit of agriculture and a little bit of what meat production looks like from start to finish, so from farm to fork,” Feierabend said. “And we understand that a lot of students aren't going to use all of that philosophy but there's different spots within the industry that they will be able to work in.” The college is working with the Minnesota Farmers Union to obtain a mobile slaughter unit and plans to develop a retail module.

Feierabend said the eight students enrolled in the current semester range from an 18-year-old to a person in their 50s looking for a career change. The students were tasked with lining up an internship. In doing so, all of them were offered a job. “So instead of just going to the internship, they're virtually getting hired on the spot to help these guys out,” Feierabend said. “There is a huge demand for it right now.”

Ridgewater College is taking a very different approach. The lecture portion of the classes is all remote learning but again students must line up a business with meat cutting equipment to get the hands-on experience. “So the students can essentially take the classes wherever they are, wherever they want,” said Sophia Thommes, the meat cutting instructor at Ridgewater. With classes being remote, the college can serve students across a wide area. She even has a student in Florida. “Students can come from anywhere in the country that they want,” said Jeff Miller, dean of instruction at Ridgewater College.

Ridgewater currently has eight students but Thommes is expecting 15 to 20 students for the spring semester. Some of the current students already are working in the meat industry in some way but want to add a certificate to their resume. Others are coming in with zero experience. Ridgewater also plans more advanced courses. “This is really one certificate that will stack into a more advanced meat processing that will be coming next year,” Miller said. “And then a third certificate that will be the meat cutting entrepreneur.” First year students learn things such as safety, slaughtering, and ethical treatment of animals. “The student can either enroll in the full certificate or pick the courses that meet their needs,” Miller said. “Our goal is to really meet students where they’re at with this.”

'Dwindled away'

Manock Meats is in Great Bend, North Dakota, population 52, and a short drive from the NDSCS campus.

Steve Manock says he has been in the business since he was about 6 years old, when his dad bought the business. He bought it from his dad when he was 21 and has been running it for about 40 years.

Manock Meats is one of just two meat lockers left in Richland County, butchering livestock that sometimes come from more than 100 miles away. “When I was growing as a kid there was one in every town and they have just dwindled away over the years,” Manock said. “There was nobody to take them over.”

The lack of meat processing means that farmers who used to be able to schedule an animal a week or two in advance now might have to schedule a year or more out, sometimes before the animal is even born.

Manock says he is the only custom processor of poultry left in North Dakota and has butchered up to 450 birds in one day, but says he tries to keep it more manageable at 200 to 250 birds in one day.

But he also likes the variety that comes with processing many different animals.

He encourages other small meat processors into partnering with a college for interns. “They struggled on a few parts but then I said ‘here’s another one’ and by the end of the day they had it down pat already,” Manock said. “I give ‘em a straight A for today.”

Article written by John Beach for AgWeek and Inforum on November 7, 2022. 

Watch the AgweekTV episode here — NDSCS Meat Processing program highlighted at 10:36. 

NDSCS offering Meat Processing program

Meat Processing
06-23-2021

North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) is accepting applications for students interested in obtaining a certificate in Meat Processing, a new program, beginning Fall 2021. Students who enroll in the Meat Processing certificate program at NDSCS will have the gain skills and techniques needed for this high-demand career field.

This responsive and innovative program is a partnership between NDSCS and North Dakota State University (NDSU). Students will enroll at NDSCS and take 15 credits one semester, then spend the first 8 weeks of the following semester being trained at the NDSU Meats Laboratory and finish the semester with an internship at a small meat processing facility and/or retail stores.

“The long-term goal of this project is to increase the availability of new workers for local, retail, and small-scale meat processors by educating students through this collaborative certificate program” said Agriculture Department Chair Craig Zimprich. “Small meat processors are a vital link in the food supply and allow farmers, ranchers, and livestock producers to retain a greater portion of the live animals value locally.”

This work is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Education and Workforce Development program, award number 2021-67037-34169, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Additional information about the program and how to enroll can be found online at NDSCS.edu/Ag.

Agriculture Instruction

NDSCS and Midwest Community College Partners Join Forces with NRCS

09-21-2020
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) is partnering with NDSCS and eight other Midwest community colleges to support hands-on student learning in the field, to develop future conservation-minded farmers and ranchers, and to cultivate more graduates interested in pursuing careers with NRCS.

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