In the agriculture industry, there is a shortage of good technicians who are able to work on equipment to support farmers and ranchers. To alleviate that need, AGCO Corporation announced a new program with Parkland College’s Midwest Center for Precision Agriculture (MCPA) in Champaign, Illinois, to expand dealer technical training offerings in January 2022. The program will leverage AGCO technical experts to train technicians from existing dealerships to support the company’s agricultural equipment, such as tractors and planters.
The presence of AGCO’s large ag equipment — including those produced by the manufacturer’s Fendt and Massey Ferguson brands — has grown across North America, which has increased demand for qualified technicians who are able to service and maintain its precision ag machinery. AGCO’s participation with Parkland College and other technical schools will help ensure its dealerships of highly-trained professionals and reduce their travel time, costs, and time spent away from dealership locations.
“AGCO is excited to team up with Parkland College,” said Robert Yunghans, manager of aftersales training for AGCO North America. “Parkland’s Precision Ag center is well known for producing some of our industry’s top professionals and this program will not only benefit them, but also our dealers and farmers across the Midwest.”
Based in Champaign, Illinois, Parkland College is a comprehensive community college with a longstanding reputation for excellence in agriculture education and diesel technology. The MCPA provides students, area employers, regional growers, and high school educators the knowledge and skills-based training to be successful.
Parkland is recognized as the #2 Precision Agriculture community college in the country, and utilizes top-notch facilities such as the Tony Noel Agriculture Technology Center and Parkhill Applied Technology Center to deliver the most advanced precision agriculture curriculum in the region.
“Parkland is pleased to expand our nationally recognized precision agriculture programming to include the opportunities provided by AGCO,” said Thomas Ramage, Parkland’s president. “Welcoming AGCO to campus will allow us to expand training opportunities on our campus, expose Parkland students and faculty to emerging technologies in the agriculture industry, and assist in meeting a critical workforce need for skilled technicians.”
In addition to the education and training assets at Parkland College, the Champaign-Urbana community is a global AgTech hub and home to the University of Illinois. The company opened the AGCO Acceleration Center at the University of Illinois Research Park in 2018, which advances technology and innovation across AGCO’s grain, seed processing, swine, and poultry production equipment brands.
