Photos by Erica Dischino A combine simulator is one of the many technologies used to train agriculture students at Ridgewater College in Willmar.
NON-FARM STUDENTS
Growing student base in ag program at Ridgewater College
By Carolyn Lange | clange@wctrib.com
B
ryce Thompson makes no bones about being a bonafide city kid. “I don’t come from a traditional farm family,” said Thompson, who grew up “in the heart of downtown Buffalo.” Other than occasional trips to his late grandfather’s small farm on the outskirts of Albertville, Thompson said he had no real exposure to agriculture. But after going to his first FFA meeting as a junior in high school, Thompson fell in love with agriculture. “I really enjoyed what they (FFA) had to offer,” he said. “I found my niche and just took off.”
A combine simulator is one of the many technologies used to train agriculture students at Ridgewater College in Willmar.
Thompson enrolled in the ag program at Ridgewater College in the fall of 2019. He graduates this spring with a double major in ag business – with an emphasis in crops – and GPS/GIS technology.
Page 22 – March 2021 – West Central Tribune
That’s the latest in Global Positioning System and Geographic Information Systems technology. Using photography skills he honed at Ridgewater, the city kid spent last fall capturing the local harvest in photos. Attracting students without a farm background is becoming more common for Ridgewater’s Ag Department, said Tammy Howe, who was hired late last year to fill a newly created position as coordinator for the ag department at Ridgewater College. In the past, the ag department typically drew students with a strong farm background. But Howe said there is a growing number of
