The drought monitor, as of Tuesday, May 11th, indicates continued good conditions with Northeast, East Central and part of North Central Kansas out of dry conditions while the western two-thirds continues to deteriorate with 40% in severe drought and 7% is extreme drought. Our entire area is now in severe to extreme drought. The six to 10 day forecast (May 19 to 23) indicates near normal temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of leaning above normal for precipitation. The eight to 14-day forecast indicates (May 21 to May 27) indicates a 40 to 60% chance of above normal temperatures and a 40 to 50% chance of leaning above normal for precip. It’s likely to be a warm Memorial Day.
The agriculture industry is extremely diverse. We think of crop and livestock production. We see some of the businesses supporting agriculture from grain elevators to feedyards. In our area, banking is heavily invested in the ag sector. One aspect that may go unnoticed but is key to farming and ranching is the equipment and machinery industry. Living in Kansas, you can’t help but notice spray rigs with booms well over 100 feet. There are combines capable of harvesting well over a thousand bushels per hour along with row crop planters and drills. The list includes swathers, bailers, along with tractors both small and large. Inside these machines is a complex system of electronics controlling everything from autosteer using GPS to planting rates along with monitoring yields. Millions of dollars are invested in equipment. And all this equipment requires someone to maintain and fix it. Someone is just as likely to have a laptop hooked up to a tractor diagnosing a problem as with a wrench or a ratchet.
If you are looking for a career with excellent wages and benefits along with job security, a career as an ag mechanic/technician is a great choice. There is a severe shortage of technicians to service and repair farm machinery, and the need is growing nationwide. Gone are the days of hiring someone off the street who was a “shade tree” mechanic and teaching them. These individuals are technicians who must constantly undergo advanced training to stay up to date on technology. Companies such as Case New Holland (CNH) want/need to hire individuals with a good basic background to build on. They need people with a basic background in DC electrical systems, hydraulics, gasoline engines, diesel engines, emission systems, powertrains, and precision farming applications. And this is just a partial list.
That’s where a community college like Barton comes in to address this need in our area and region. Barton has partnered with CNH to offer the Top Tech Ag Mechanics program. The program is completed in just two semesters. The individual attains 50 credit hours in two semesters and is in class from 8 a.m. until noon daily. Area CNH dealers are willing to hire them afternoons to further their hands-on experience. At the college they can also obtain their CDL. Most will have a position lined up before completing in the spring semester. They will leave with an excellent starting position and a certificate in Ag Mechanics.
Dr. Victor L. Martin is the agriculture instructor/coordinator for Barton Community College. He can be reached at 620-792-9207, ext. 207, or martinv@bartonccc.edu.
