Heartland celebrates Agriculture Complex opening

NORMAL, Ill. — Farmers will be planting in nearby fields this spring, using their knowledge and available tools to help those crops reach their potential.

The same can be said metaphorically with the opening of Heartland Community College’s new 29,500-square-foot Agriculture Complex that will provide the seeds and tools for students to grow and flourish in the ag industry.

Heartland staff, students, local officials, and agriculture industry leaders participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 31 for the new $23 million Agriculture Complex located on the west side of the main Heartland campus on Raab Road in Normal.

The complex includes both instructional and community education space including the McLean County Farm Bureau Agriculture Lab, the Growmark FS Atrium, and the Funk Family Foundation Outdoor Learning Center.

In addition to the McLean County Farm Bureau, Growmark FS and the Funk Family Foundation, support for the Heartland Agriculture Complex project has been provided by Bob Brucker, Alan Bedell and Deanna Frautschi, Cargill, CoBank, Compeer Financial, the Daily family, Precision Planting, Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Joe Talkington, Bank of Pontiac and others.

Thanks to an additional $2 million grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, the building is a “net-zero” facility. The ICEF grant funding supported project costs and building components related to energy efficiency and renewable self-generation, enabling the project to achieve site net-zero energy performance.

Multiple Pathways

HCC offers multiple pathways for agriculture students including the degree programs Associate in Science, Associate in Arts, Associate in Applied Science, as well as certifications in Agriculture Business, Agronomy, Precision Agriculture and Regenerative Agriculture.

The Ag Complex is expected to support 200 credit students annually in addition to hosting community groups and events.

HCC President Keith Cornille reflected on a conversation he had with the board when he interviewed for the president’s position six years ago.

“My first questions was how is it that we could live among some of the richest farmland in the world, yet we didn’t have a comprehensive agriculture program and we didn’t have a facility to support it,” he said.

“And to their credit, they responded that day by sharing their dreams, their vision, and then they turned around and they had the courage to get behind this project and make sure that it became reality.

“By expanding our agriculture education pathways to include not only three degree programs but also additional certificate programs, we are seeking to meet the ag workforce needs of the present and also the future.

“The Agriculture Complex will also be a resource to engage community youth. The space will be used for school field trips, FFA members, 4-H club members, and others who will carry the industry on for generations to come.”

Becky Ropp, HCC Board of Trustees chair, her husband Ken and their daughter live on the seventh-generation family farm just down the road from the college. She noted her personal and professional passion regarding agriculture education at Heartland.

“There are over 1,300 high school agricultural students in our community college district. These are young people poised to take their interest and skills to the next level. This Agricultural Complex at Heartland Community College will teach, support and launch those students and so many others into the next generation of agricultural professions,” Ropp said.

“I am most excited to see the expansion of the ag program at Heartland with new degrees and new certifications. The mission of Heartland Community College is to provide opportunity through education. There is and will continue to be so much opportunity for those with agricultural and professional skills.

“Heartland Community College District 540 represents 2 million acres of land devoted to agriculture. In recent years, Illinois has had the most jobs posted in the agricultural industry, with careers on crop science, manufacturing, retail services, IT, finance and so many other specialities related to this industry. Students have the opportunity to find employment quickly with their completion of Heartland’s agricultural programs.

“This 25,000-square-foot facility has the learning space needed for plant science, soil analysis, precision planting technology, drone technology, heavy equipment, agribusiness, and many other instructions tied to our diverse industry.”