Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
April 5, 2002

Extension provides ag classes for Deere Waterloo staff

by Anne Krapfl
Changes in Iowa's workforce have created a huge educational opportunity in northeast Iowa for ISU Extension employees. Extension has contracted with the John Deere Co. to provide a series of courses aimed at getting Deere Waterloo Works employees more in tune with agriculture and where it's headed.

"The people at the Waterloo plant are concerned about a significant -- 50 to 60 percent -- turnover in their workforce over a five-year period," explained Paul Brown, Extension education director for northeast Iowa and leader of the Deere class project. "A generation ago, many of their workers grew up on farms, still farmed part time or perhaps were displaced farmers. With lots of those people now retiring, they're finding that the new workers might not be as knowledgeable about what's going on in agriculture."

The goal is to give all 5,000 plant employees a better understanding of trends and changes in agriculture so that the products they're designing and producing address the needs of the current ag environment, Brown said.

"John Deere 101: Issues and Trends in North American Agriculture" has been taught at the Waterloo plant since November. So far, 1,000 employees have attended the one-day class. Two-person volunteer teams from among 10 Extension county directors and 10 ag field specialists from all over the state teach the class.

"John Deere 201: Global Agriculture, Product Diversity and New Markets" is in the development stage now; Brown said it will first be taught later this year. The third course in the series will be "301: Global Economy and Emerging Markets."

The courses are being developed by an interdisciplinary team of Extension employees from on and off campus, including economists, sociologists, entomologists, and field and communication specialists.

Reaction so far to John Deere 101 is good. Brown said 95 percent of those who have taken the class expressed satisfaction with it. Positive experiences have helped promote the class among Deere employees. Officials at the Deere headquarters in Moline, Ill., have inquired about offering the series at Deere plants across the country.