Editor's note: This article is from Farm Equipment's 2025 Ag Career Report, included in the October/November 2025 Issue.
A large and increasing number of technical schools, community colleges and national skill-based programs are working diligently to attract the next wave of precision ag talent through bachelor’s and associate’s degree programs and technical certifications. Increasingly, large universities are expanding their precision ag programs to answer the interests of students in a growing segment of the ag industry.
An awareness of the latest technologies — drones, data analytics, remote sensing and other tools — and understanding of how to leverage their applications, is vital for ag industry professionals focused on precision ag in order to make determinations on variable rate fertilizer, seeding for yield maximization and economics. Staying knowledgeable on emerging innovations is critical in today’s fast-paced marketplace.
Of the extensive number and variety of educational institutions that support precision agriculture, this report contains only a representative sampling which illustrate the range of courses and career opportunities.
Parkland Community College Midwest Center for Precision Agriculture (MCPA) prides itself on its lead faculty member earning a Certified Crop Advisor with Precision Ag Specialty certification and 10 plus years of precision agriculture industry experience. It describes the program this way: “Driven by the reality that innovations in precision ag are emerging at a fast pace, its comprehensive, hands-on career development program maintains a priority on equipping graduates with ‘industry-based competencies and giving them the specific skills to step successfully into modern roles of agriculture.’ The College also notes that its 20-year history of training precision agronomists has helped to establish a strong regional reputation, with employer partners eager to hire Parkland graduates.”
The MCPA services include: High School Dual Enrollment Courses; High School Teacher Workshops (Classroom Modules/Training); Accelerated Certificate for four-year college students; Precision Ag AAS Degree; Stackable Certificates: Precision Ag; UAS Community Education Courses; and Agribusiness Industry Consultation.
The Precision Ag Specialist program at Ivy Tech Community College can be achieved in 3 semesters, or about a year as graduates must complete a total of 34 credit hours. Three locations are available, including Columbus, Lafayette and Terre Haute, Ind.
Education + Industry = Opportunities
In December 2024, a new AGCO Training Center at Parkland College in Champaign, Ill., opened. The $6 million facility is the site for the new AGCO service technician associate’s degree program, launched in fall 2023. The cooperative 2-year, student technician education program is designed to address the demand for skilled technicians who can service AGCO’s Fendt and Massey Ferguson ag equipment.
The facility contains 3 classrooms, faculty offices and 18,000 square feet of equipment laboratory space. Construction on the new center was supported by a $5 million donation from AGCO Corp. Local AGCO dealers are working with Parkland College on training activities at the new facility and at their own dealer sites. Students will participate in a work-based learning model that rotates between classwork and fieldwork.
Pamela Lau, Parkland College’s president, says the new facility — at a college already known for its precision agriculture program — will offer students training in a high-demand career that promises a solid foundation for continued employment and advancement in the ag equipment industry.
Like so many OEMs working to shore up the future workforce, AGCO has noted that as demand for skilled ag technicians remains high, today’s equipment requires focused programs that specialize in precision ag instruction. That understanding has led to ongoing efforts to answer those needs.
In November 2024, AGCO announced that South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) added its NexTECH program to its SGTC’s Americus, Ga., campus. The NexTECH program integrates AGCO-specific content into schools’ existing diesel technology curriculum, providing students with hands-on training for the company’s advanced machinery.
Additionally, the Precision Ag Technician curriculum entails a 34 credit hour requirement, which can also be completed in 3 semesters, after which students are commonly hired by farm equipment dealerships. The program is described as “a great starting point for students that share an interest in both precision ag systems and farm equipment. Upon completion, students with Technical Certificates will be ready for a career focused on both troubleshooting and utilizing precision ag systems in commercial agriculture.
The curriculum ranges from introductory courses on precision ag and GPS/GIS to application control, planting & harvest systems, advanced electrical systems, crop machinery and equipment, as well as a co-op Internship.
Kirkwood Community College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) uses the tagline “2 years for great careers” in promoting its agriculture career development programs. It allows students to “Develop a deeper understanding of precision farming systems, business administration … what it takes to support the production of food, fuel and fiber to provide for a growing population with Kirkwood’s Agricultural Science program.”
Program features:
- 800 plus acres of working farm providing both crop and livestock learning labs.
- Spring semester study abroad opportunity to learn about Brazilian agriculture.
- On-farm research projects explore the latest science.
- 13 agriculture-related student organizations among the 80 plus clubs on campus.
- Required internship opportunities with great industry contacts, which often lead to a full-time work after graduation.
Iowa Central Community College/Greene County Career Academy offers coursework toward certifications in Agricultural Information Technology in Fort Dodge, Iowa. This 16 credit-hour career pathway allows students to be “well-versed in the information technology that surrounds today’s agricultural equipment and field studies … to develop ways to use technology as a potential tool to improve decision making for the industry.”
The Ohio State Univ. (OSU) College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has courses in both Columbus as well as in Wooster, Ohio, with CFAES Wooster being home to 24 associate degree majors and related specializations.
The program focus is to develop precision nutrient management strategies and technologies to improve efficiency of fertilizer placement, enable on-farm evaluation, automate machine functionality, enhance placement of pesticides and seed, and to develop analytical tools for digital agriculture. Researchers are also designing precision machinery control for varying field operations and identifying the value proposition of both precision agriculture technology and farm data for individual growers.
Digital agriculture includes the advancement of farm operations through implementation of precision agriculture strategies, precision livestock farming, and controlled environment production using data and analytical techniques.
Research includes:
- Machinery automation
- Autonomous multi-vehicle field production systems
- Site-specific management practices
- Remote sensing
- UAS applications
- Data analytics to enhance timing, placement, and efficacy of inputs to cropping systems
The university notes that the mission of OSU’s Digital Agriculture program is “to be the primary source of research-based information to farmers in the age of digital agriculture.”
The digital ag webpage can be found at digitalag.osu.edu which also lists the Precision Ag courses currently offered at Ohio State.
Other universities and technical institutions offering precision degrees and certification programs include, but are limited to: Iowa State Univ., Purdue Univ., Wisconsin Technical College System, Ridgewater College, Illinois Central College, HIghland Community College, Fox Valley Technical College, South Dakota State University, Utah State University, Ellsworth Community College, University of Illinois, Arkansas State University, Morgan Community College, Lincoln Land Community College, among others.
