JANUARY 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 25 Raven Precision Agriculture Center at South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU) was the first institution in the nation to offer a four-year degree in precision agriculture and soon, they’ll have a new facility to complement their program, the Raven Precision Agriculture Center. John Killefer, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at SDSU, says the $46.1-mil- lion building will be “the first and most advanced facility dedicated to precision agriculture education and research.” A groundbreaking ceremony was held in early October 2018 for the 129,000-square-foot structure and work is expected to commence in the spring of 2019. Private donors and fund- ing authorized by South Dakota’s state leaders help fund the project. Killefer says precision agriculture is valued in places such as South Dakota with variable production environ- ments, noting the region’s farmers were early adopters of this technology. “Stakeholders were informing us of the need for graduates with expertise in agronomic practices, basic engi- neering and data sciences. We already have programs that provide that expertise so the new Raven Precision Agriculture Center will allow us to bring all those disciplines together. “The center is designed to pro- vide unique learning environments,” Killefer says. “The classrooms will allow precision ag equipment of all sizes to be present during lectures and labs, including full-size combines. “The center will enable us to inte- grate faculty with different expertise under one roof. There will also be space for industry partners, so stu- dents will have opportunities to work on real-life challenges. The center was designed with synergy and collabora- tion in mind.” Killefer says the Raven Precision Agriculture Center will focus its efforts on projects such as developing new data handling processes, testing new sensors and equipment that come on the market and studying new practices that most efficiently use on-farm resources while maintaining profitability. “This center will help us prepare our students to help producers most fully uti- lize the technologies of today and tomor- row,” he says. Using technology is becoming increas- ingly important as farmers seek to feed a growing population in a sustainable manner. “Precision agriculture will have a tre- mendous impact on optimizing produc- tivity and conserving natural resources,” Killefer says. “There are individual dis- ciplines associated specifically with equipment, seed technology, soils, and data-analytics for example, and we will bring these all together in our teaching and research activities. “We want to help our graduates to be the leaders and decision-makers of tomor- row that best utilize technology to address challenges and opportunities associated with equipment, data, seed technology, labor, policies and economics.” Dr. John Killefer serves as dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences at South Dakota State University. Above: Students Johnna Jorgenson and John Stubbendick turn the first shovel of dirt during groundbreaking ceremonies for the Raven Precision Agriculture Center. Right: Work on the 129,000 square foot Raven Precision Agriculture Center is due to start in the spring of 2019.