Hands On Learning

SWTC's First Harvest

Southwest Wisconsin Technical College students brought in their first harvest this fall from the college’s new 80-acre Agricultural Demonstration Lab. This marks a major milestone for Southwest Tech’s agriculture programs and its hands-on learning model.

The college purchased the land in June 2024 and partnered with Premier Co-op to manage the crop ground. This fall, students harvested corn and soybeans planted during the spring semester—many of them experiencing full-scale field operations for the first time.

The acreage includes 40 acres of corn—planted in three varieties—and 35 acres of soybeans, planted with two varieties. Students spent the fall monitoring stand counts, evaluating stalk quality, and conducting yield estimates. Weather delays stretched soybean harvest over several weeks, but Dal Santo said the experience mirrored real-world conditions.

“Fighting the rain, working around class schedules, and making decisions day by day—it’s all part of learning how farming actually works,” he said. “This is a student-run field. Instructors and Premier agronomists make recommendations, but the students are doing the work.”

For the first time, every agriculture program—Precision Agronomy, Animal Science, Ag Power, and Ag Business—has been able to use the same land base. Ag Power students handled combine setup and maintenance. Precision Agronomy students collected crop data and managed field decisions. Animal Science students learned crop-production fundamentals that tie directly back to their on-farm roles.

Precision Agronomy student Calan Meylor, Mineral Point, Wisconsin, said the experience has been transformative. “It’s a lot of hands-on work out here, and it’s something you don’t get at every school,” he said. “We get to experiment, try different varieties, and basically run the land. It gives us a better idea of what it takes to produce a good crop every year.”

The partnership with Premier Co-op has been critical in guiding the college through its first full growing season on the site. Premier agronomists advised on fertility, seed selection and disease management, while its grain merchandising team worked with students on marketing the harvested crop.

“We have enjoyed the opportunity to have our agronomy and grain team help guide the next generation of agriculture at Southwest Tech,” said Matt Severson, Premier Co-op CEO. “We look forward to continuing to grow this partnership and provide students with real-world experience.”

“Without Premier, we wouldn’t be out here today,” Dal Santo said. “They’ve supported us every step of the way, and the results speak for themselves. This land is yielding beyond anything I expected.”
 

Daniel Wackershauser
Southwest Tech
Marketing & PR Specialist