Continuing Education and
Communication Services
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
9/24/01
Contacts:
Stanley Johnson, Iowa State University Extension, (515) 294-6192, srjohnso@iastate.edu
Paul Brown, Northeast Iowa Extension, (319) 266-3260, pwbrown@iastate.edu
Elaine Edwards, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515)
294-5168, eedwards@iastate.edu
Mindy Westendorf, John Deere Waterloo Works, (319) 292-3981, WestendorfMindyM@JohnDeere.com
John Deere Waterloo Works Employees Get 'In Tune with Agriculture'
WATERLOO, Iowa -- When John Deere Waterloo Works decided to provide an agriculture awareness course for its employees, the company contacted Iowa State University Extension. Consequently, ISU Extension designed a custom agriculture program for John Deere Waterloo Works, "In Tune with Agriculture."
"We wanted our employees to have a clearer understanding of agriculture and the issues and trends our customers face in their business. We wanted our farmer customers to be amazed at how much our employees knew about agriculture when talking to our employees during visits to our factories," said Linda Hibben, manager of Training and Development for John Deere Waterloo Works. "By using a team of both Deere and ISU Extension representatives, we were able to brainstorm, build on each other's ideas and come to solutions that neither entity could have done alone. ISU Extension has developed the final training package which has evolved following team meetings when we worked together to better define our needs."
As a result, the In Tune with Agriculture Institute will provide timely, need-specific instruction for John Deere Waterloo Works employees.
"ISU Extension is proud to partner with John Deere. By partnering with Iowa companies, ISU can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of the Iowa economy and the communities where those businesses reside," said Stanley Johnson, vice provost for ISU Extension.
"John Deere saw a need for this education because the company looked to the future when many long-time employees with farm backgrounds would be retiring. The company recognized that many future employees would not have the level of agricultural experience the current employees possess," said Paul Brown, Northeast Area Extension education director and Extension's primary contact for the project.
Every employee of John Deere Waterloo Works will attend the first part of the course -- John Deere 101, Issues and Trends in North American Agriculture -- beginning in November 2001. Twenty ISU Extension field specialists and county directors will teach the eight-hour course. A cross-section of John Deere employees will be represented in each class.
John Deere 101 covers the history of agriculture from early mechanization to the present and explains how agricultural changes created modern farming and laid the foundation for the future. A case study will illustrate what a farm is, how agriculture is organized and changing and the consequences of those changes, according to Brown. Other In Tune with Agriculture programs are planned for John Deere Waterloo Works employees in conjunction with the Extension Institute, focusing on global and economic issues.
ISU Extension staff in the Northeast Iowa Extension Area, Extension to Agriculture and Natural Resources, the College of Agriculture and Continuing Education and Communication Services are working together to develop the In Tune with Agriculture Institute. Additional information on Institutes at Iowa State University is available on the Continuing Education and Communication Services Web site at http://www.lifelearner.iastate.edu.
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Iowa State University President Gregory L. Geoffroy is visiting Waterloo/Cedar Falls today. He will be available to answer questions immediately following the Waterloo Rotary Club meeting at 1 p.m. at the Five Sullivan Brothers Conference Center.
Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.