Rend Lake College, a two-year institution in southern Illinois, is designing a program to bring more spray applicators into the ag industry.
Joel Wood with Nutrien Ag Solutions tells Brownfield they have trouble finding skilled applicators.
“I feel that it is because farm families are getting fewer. There are less farmers out there right now and less children that want to get into the ag business. Everyone is well aware that the ag business is a growing market for employees, so we are trying to entice them to get into this business.”
Illinois farmer and Rend Lake College President Terry Wilkerson says to address the problem, the college is looking into offering a specialized program to train students to operate sprayers and apply liquid chemical and dry fertilizer.
