Blackhawk Technical College Celebrates New Ag Lab

Blackhawk Technical College hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, December 3rd at the Blackhawk Monroe Campus to celebrate the construction of a 3,200 sq. ft. lab facility for its Agribusiness degree program. The $650,000 project provides a new home for the program giving students space and opportunity to have important hands-on training regardless of weather conditions. The building opened for students earlier this fall.

The project is the culmination of years of work to rebuild and expand the agricultural program at Blackhawk. To support agricultural education at Blackhawk, a new fund has been established with the Blackhawk Technical College Foundation called the Future of Agriculture Fund. Two families who were instrumental in starting the fund, Jim & Therese Gratz and Fran & Sandy Donny, were recognized at the ribbon-cutting event.

“The fund will support scholarships as well as program activities. We were very excited to be able to sign the official documents this fall for the creation of the fund, at the site where the initial conversation started over one year ago, in the field owned by the Donny’s and operated by the Gratz’s,” said Blackhawk Agribusiness Instructor Dustin Williams.  “We are excited about the opportunities that Ag Lab will provide for future generations of agriculture students at Blackhawk Technical College.”

The Agriculture Program at Blackhawk offers a Technical Diploma (Agribusiness Specialist) as well as an Associates of Applied Science Degree (Agribusiness/Science Technology).  The new Ag Lab that features cutting edge technology and a greenhouse. The Ag Lab officially opened for the fall 2019 semester on the Blackhawk Monroe Campus.

For more information about the Future of Agriculture Fund or the Agribusiness Program at Blackhawk Technical College, contact Dustin Williams at (608) 329-8210 or dwilliams61@blackhawk.edu.