South Georgia Technical College, Blanchard Equipment and John Deere have announced a new partnership that will provide potential John Deere technicians with a comprehensive two-year associate degree in agricultural technology.

Blanchard Equipment has nine locations in Georgia and South Carolina and offers service, sales and parts departments in all nine locations.

“We were very pleased to be selected to provide training for John Deere technicians in the Southeastern portion of the United States,” said South Georgia Technical College President Sparky Reeves. “As the John Deere Tech College for Georgia, Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, we will be able to provide Blanchard Equipment and the other John Deere dealerships in these states with a trained workforce to fulfill their customer’s needs. We believe that this will be a great partnership and relationship because of the strong agricultural industry in Georgia and the surrounding states.”

Jennifer Badding, John Deere College Partnership manager, explained that there is a shortage of qualified service technicians in the field and that as more and more technician’s approach retirement age, demand is expected to grow.

The South Georgia Technical College-John Deere Tech Agricultural Technology program will begin Aug. 20, 2014, at South Georgia Tech’s Americus, Ga., campus location. The college is currently accepting applications for the initial class. For more information contact South Georgia Technical College at 1-800-928-0283 or a Blanchard Equipment dealer.