Liam Coyne grew up on a family farm in western New York and heard about the Farm & Industry Short Course from a relative. He was intrigued by the University of Wisconsin-Madison program, which allows students to learn about a variety of agricultural topics in only 15 weeks. Coyne went through one session and liked it so much he came back the next year.
“I chose to come back because, being a part of a dairy farm that’s fully self-sufficient with their crops, I need to know about quite a few different aspects to be successful,” he says.
In the Farm & Industry Short Course, students tailor the curriculum to their needs, choosing from dozens of classes in soils, crops, dairy, meat animals, agricultural engineering, farm business planning, agribusiness, human relations, and communications. Coyne is interested in crop production, so he took courses in Farm Machinery, Precision Agriculture, and Farm Power.
The Farm & Industry Short Course is timed to the Midwest’s non-growing season, November through March. Even though students are on campus for only 15 weeks, they immerse themselves in the UW-Madison experience.
“You have full access to everything as far as sporting events, clubs and other campus activities,” Coyne says.
For Coyne, the most valuable part of the Farm & Industry Short Course is the networking opportunities.
“The program sets you up with great opportunities to tour farms and factories and meet with different people,” he says. “For someone who is looking for a job in the industry, they definitely help you put you in the right place.”
For more information about the Farm & Industry Short Course, watch the video above or see here.