Press contact: Kyla Kruse

JACKSONVILLE — Lincoln Land Community College hosted a free, four-day Career Quest Camp, “Ag Explorers,” June 2-5 at Jacksonville Middle School. Twenty students in grades 6-8 participated in the camp, which focused on agriculture.

Students learned about precision agriculture, animal science, plant and soil science, and ag mechanics. The students participated in hands-on activities with GPS, drone flying, genetic matching, pH testing, flower dissection, viscosity testing and more. Todd Burrus from Burrus Seed talked to participants about future career opportunities in agriculture, and Beard Implement Company brought out real-world agricultural equipment for the students to explore up close.

“This camp gave students a real taste of what agriculture is all about. With help from our great LLCC instructors and community partners, students were able to try out hands-on activities, see big equipment up close and learn directly from people working in the ag industry,” said Keri Mason, director, LLCC-Jacksonville and LLCC-Beardstown. “It was a fun and eye-opening week that showed just how many exciting opportunities ag has to offer.”

“Career Quest Camps provide opportunities for students to have fun while digging into an area of study like agriculture to learn more about this high-demand job field and the related career paths, and get hands-on skill training,” said Dr. Joel Dykstra, associate vice president of academics at LLCC.

This event was made possible by funding from the LLCC Foundation.

LLCC offers degrees and certificates in the areas of agriculture, agribusiness, precision agronomy and custom application, and horticulture and cultivation. For more information, visit www.llcc.edu/agriculture.