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Keeping research going

Two parties who hooked up last year to continue ag research in Fayette County have agreed to continue that partnership.
The Fayette County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and Kaskaskia College Board of Trustees have signed a three-year agreement through which KC’s agriculture students can continue research work at the former home of the University of Illinois Agronomy Research Center south of Brownstown.
This is the continuation of an agreement that was initiated last year after the Farm Bureau retained ownership of that land, which includes about 120 acres that can be used for farming.
The Farm Bureau had learned through original agreement documents with the University of Illinois that if the college discontinued using the land for research, it would revert back to the Farm Bureau.
In February of last year, the Farm Bureau and KC board established a new research program on the property.
“Their first year went really well,” Stephanie Kraus, manager of the Fayette County Farm Bureau, said, explaining that representatives of the ag program gave the first research results to the Farm Bureau Board at its January meeting.
Kraus said that when the Farm Bureau learned that it was getting the land back, it approached both KC and Lake Land College in Mattoon.
Lake Land, she said, declined to get involved, due to the fact that it already does research on campus.
Kaskaskia College, Kraus said, “jumped at the chance” to be able to have its ag students use the land for education and research.
Because it was late summer when the Farm Bureau and Kaskaskia College got together on an agreement, students in the KC ag program were limited on how much they could get done.
The students, under the direction of Professor Bill Waggoner, planted crops in the summer and fall, and each test site was sprayed with different chemicals, so students could monitor what worked and why.
“It’s really a great educational opportunity for the students,” Kraus said.
“They have some land at the college for research, but this is much-better quality of land that what they have there,” Kraus said.
“We’re real excited about this (partnership) because it continues research in the county and gives the students some valuable hands-on experience,” she said.
“And it’s nice to see that the interim president, George Evans, is really supporting the program,” Kraus said.
Evans said, “The Brownstown Research Center is a great educational opportunity for our students.
“It’s a great resource for our students, which will continue to grow as the program integrates the studies being conducted there into coursework at the Ag Education Center on KC’s main campus,” Evans said.
The Farm Bureau could have decided to use the land for other purposes,” said Evans. “But, we’re thankful they chose to continue the station as it was intended, for education.  We are so very appreciative of this partnership.”
 

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