CenDak Cooperative has donated $30,000 to Lake Region State College’s new ag education building project.
With the gift comes the opportunity to name one of the office suite areas of the new center.
“At CenDak Cooperative, we see the benefit and value of having such an amazing educational facility so close. We are proud to be a part of this exciting project,” said Tony Gratton, CenDak General Manager.
CenDak Cooperative, with locations in Niles, Leeds, New Rockford, Maddock and Harvey provides agricultural producers with the products and relied upon in agriculture from fertilizer, seed, chemicals, fuel, and grain marketing.
LRSC President Doug Darling said support from producers and the agriculture industry confirms the need for the new ag education facility at the college.
“Support for the Hofstad Agriculture Center has been astounding. To see backing from producers and industry shows how important agriculture is to the region,” Darling said.
The 2019 North Dakota Legislature authorized construction of a new $3 million ag education building at LRSC. The legislation provided a direct appropriation of $1 million along with some matching fund opportunities and named the building for Curt and Annette Hofstad, long-time Lake Region residents and friends of LRSC. The new ag education building will provide enhanced classroom space and a shop more suited for working with today’s precision ag components and large equipment. With LRSC’s own test field right outside the new building location, students will have real world experiences and graduate with knowledge from the classroom and field.
The Community College Foundation, which supports Lake Region State College, launched a capital campaign this spring to raise $1.5 million. The campaign, when combined with the state appropriation and other state match programs, will bring the college to its $3 million goal.
The Precision Ag program at LRSC has continued to grow since starting classes in 2013. Recently, the ag program was ranked #10 by Precision Ag Institute in its top-20 list because of LRSC’s combination of Industry partners and hands on approach to instruction. The excellent relationship with industry benefits students and employers.
Established in 1941, Lake Region State College is a comprehensive community college based in Devils Lake, ND. LRSC offers education in a variety of career and technical programs and associate arts (transfer) degree for those planning to transfer and pursue a bachelor’s degree. The college offers its peace officer training program in Minot each spring, Grand Forks and Fargo each summer; its nursing program in Grand Forks and Mayville; is part of the Grand Forks Air Force Base Education Center; has a program called LAUNCH! that serves students in Grand Forks planning on transferring to UND; numerous degrees and courses online; and early entry and dual credit courses for eligible high school students.
In the photo: Tony Jochim, CenDak agronomy dept. manager; Tony Gratton, CenDak general manager; Steve Jorgenson, CenDak board secretary; Lorin Haagenson, CenDak board president; Preston Sundeen, LRSC Precision Ag director; Elonda Nord, Community College Foundation executive director; Doug Darling, LRSC president; Bruce Tuebner, Lee Simon, Mark Kallenbach, and Mark Swanson, CenDak board members.