November 20, 2013
By: Rene? McCracken, Director of Agriculture NTCC
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† † †Learning to manage the land and natural resources that you are a steward of can often be an overwhelming task.††From planting to fencing to artificial insemination and plant propagation, there are numerous decisions that must be made correctly and efficiently in order to succeed in agriculture endeavors.††Typically, the greatest threat to success in agriculture is not††pests, disease, drought, flood or even financial problems - it is ignorance.††Farmers will most assuredly fail if they do not know the right management techniques to use before challenges arise.††Sifting through the countless sources of agriculture instruction may prove to be the largest obstacle to success. Northeast Texas Community College is helping to eliminate these hurdles to agriculture aptitude through their unique offering of progressive courses combining traditional and sustainable agriculture subjects.
† † †As defined, sustainable agriculture is the managing of an agriculture business that includes making decisions based on good environmental stewardship, supporting and strengthening the community and profitability.††If you find your business is lacking in any of these areas, consider taking a course with NTCC. We are currently enrolling for the spring semester, which begins January 13.††We are offering a wide variety of courses in the spring, including: Ag-economics, Wildlife and Conservation Management, Soil Science, Grass-fed livestock, Processing Small Farm Products, Surface and Groundwater Collection, and Beef Cattle Production. Each of these classes will provide you knowledge and skills needed to better manage your property and natural resources.††In all, 13 courses are offered in agriculture studies.††For a complete listing of courses for spring refer to www.ntcc.edu/ag <http://www.ntcc.edu/ag> or call 903-434-8139 to register today.
† † †Agriculture is traditionally a course of study that demands hands-on learning - but what happens when you spend your whole day getting your hands dirty with your own crops or livestock AND still working at the job in town? You?re probably not left with a lot of time to attend class. To help those who can't attend traditional classes, we are excited to offer two of our agriculture classes ? Small Farm Business Planning and Ag Industry - entirely online. Additionally, Processing Small Farm Products will be a hybrid course with lecture portions taught online and the lab taught at the NTCC Hanson-Sewell Center in Pittsburg.††If you are interested in making your agriculture business more sustainable or you are a student looking for an opportunity to find a degree plan that will increase your career opportunities, consider expanding your horizons with NTCC Agriculture Courses.
† † †Classes are not only available to those students seeking college credit and a certificate or degree but are available to those interested in attending class for the information only.††If you would like to take a class through our continuing education department, simply call Lisa at 903-434-8134.††Advantages of courses through continuing education (information only) include: no pre-requisite classes, no placement tests required, and no tests/assignments required.
† † †Sign-up today as some courses have limited seats available.††For more information or to register for the day and select the classes you would like to attend contact Rene? McCracken at 903-434-8267 or send emails to†rmccracken@ntcc.edu.
