A former World War II airbase near Walcott is now home to a unique agricultural program where students at Greene County Tech High School operate a working farm, with proceeds reinvested into the school's agriculture education initiatives.
Originally used as an airbase during World War II, the site was decommissioned after the Korean War and repurposed for educational use in the 1960s. Since then, it has served as a hub for agricultural learning, adding more than three decades of research and education to its history.
Ben Gander, one of four agriculture instructors at Greene County Tech, highlighted the program's focus on bridging classroom concepts with practical fieldwork. “This is a place where students can come and learn how to drive a tractor and they can understand crop science. We teach crop science in class, but this is where they get the hands-on experience,” Gander explained.
Unlike many school districts that lease farmland to local producers while students observe from the sidelines, Greene County Tech entrusts its students to personally manage the farm. Gander described how students are deeply involved in every stage of agricultural production. “They work the ground, they plant the crop, they fertilize the crop, they water it all summer, and they get to take part in harvesting,” he said.
The program doesn’t stop at harvesting. The crops transition into another phase of the curriculum as students learn how to handle and process the harvested grains. “We take it to our high school where we have a grain bin to teach students grain bin safety and maintenance,” Gander said. “We bag it into 50-pound sacks and sell them to local feed stores to add value to our products.”
Currently, the 80-acre farm is divided evenly between two crops: corn and soybeans. Forty acres are dedicated to each, allowing students to work with and study different cultivation techniques.
The ambitious program operates year-round and currently engages 307 students, ranging from eighth to twelfth grade. To participate, students must enroll in an agriculture class. According to Gander, this approach ensures that students gain meaningful and practical agricultural skills that extend beyond the classroom.
The farm not only offers unparalleled learning opportunities but also exemplifies how a historic site can be transformed into a thriving educational resource for the community.