Lakeland College's Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland (SMF) crops unit has cause for celebration, having wrapped up harvest at the beginning of October.

Breanna Elder, the SMF crops unit's public relations manager, says over 800 acres of wheat, barley, canola and pea crops were seeded and harvested. The unit also had 130 acres of corn, which is silaged for the farm's cattle.

“We were done harvest on the first weekend of October, which hasn't been done in some years. It was exciting to be done early. During harvest, I operated the combine for a few days and harvested the school's crops independently. It was a cool opportunity as at home on my family farm, I don't get to operate machinery without my dad,” Elder says.

Crop technology students had access to New Holland Agriculture's IntelliSense combine automation technology, as well as Top Grade Ag. This system monitors conditions in the bin during supplemental heat drying to achieve a target moisture content.

Of his harvest experience, Bryce Osinchuk, the SMF crops unit's general manager, says, “I got to run new technology in the combine that was generously provided by New Holland. I got to experience hauling grain from the field and loading it into the college's storage facility. I also got the experience of organizing and managing the jobs and duties that were required during this harvest.”

Hands-on learning and real-world applications are a driving force in Lakeland's programming. Sarah MacDonald, the SMF crops unit's assistant general manager, appreciates this learning method's value.

 “Had I learned strictly from reading textbooks, I would not have learned as much as I have. Taking the knowledge from class and applying it on the Student-Managed Farm has given me a broader understanding of the crop industry. I also believe that the hands-on learning opportunities have encouraged me to ask more questions,” she says. Both Elder and Osinchuk believe this learning method also presents the opportunity to learn from mistakes.

However, harvest didn't come without its share of challenges. The crops unit's leadership agreed that some of the trials during harvest include handling COVID-19 protocols and equipment breakdowns.

MacDonald says, “Communication was key with nearly 50 students, advisors and farm staff. It was critical that we learned to communicate and understand that tasks were probably going to take longer. Those adversities will help us to be more prepared for our futures in the agriculture industry.”

The job isn't done because the crop is off of the field. The crops unit's next steps comprise of fall fieldwork such as heavy harrowing and high-speed disking, marketing the grain to the SMF livestock and purebred units or external buyers, and planning for seeding in spring 2021. Lakeland students will also start farming land six kilometres west of the college that was purchased in 2019 thanks to donor support from Judy Sweet and Roy Kubica. This year's students will be the first to seed this land.

Elder says the crops unit will create a mid-year report about harvest and present their initial discoveries to peers, faculty and industry in November. They will further elaborate on their plans in their final presentations at the end of the academic year.

Photos: Top-Students inspect crops during harvest. Bottom-A student operates a New Holland combine featuring IntelliSense combine automation technology.