With 440 acres of land at the Farm and Environmental Education Center, Austin Peay State University Department (APSU) Agriculture faculty and students already have the land they need to gain experience in hay and forage production. But to continue their mission of educating students on current industry practices, department faculty said they recognized the need for an upgrade in its tools of the trade, according to a story in The Leaf Chronicle.

Thanks to a partnership between APSU, Kubota Tractor Corp. and Clarksville, Tenn.-based Coleman Tractor Co., APSU received six Kubota hay products — a donation of equipment valued at over $250,000. The tools will aid farm faculty and students in both maintaining the farm as well as educating students on modern agricultural practices.

“This is really a momentous occasion for both us here in the program, as well as Coleman Tractor Co. and Kubota,” said Don Sudbrink, chair of the APSU Department of Agriculture.

“This entire process from idea to now came about very smoothly, and I am really impressed with the way both Coleman and Kubota worked with us to make this all a reality.”

As a part of the arrangement, APSU accepted delivery of six pieces of equipment, including an M6-111 tractor, LA1955 loader attachment and a DMC8032T disc mover, a TE4052T rotary tedder, a BV4180 round baler and a utility vehicle. The equipment, leased to Austin Peay at the cost of $1 a year, will be replaced after one year of use with new equipment for the next three years, says Spencer Coleman, owner of Coleman Tractor Company.

“A lot of manufacturers have had similar arrangements with other universities, but this is a first for Kubota and Coleman Tractor Co.,” Coleman said. “Austin Peay has a really great agriculture program, and I really think a partnership like this helps the next generation of farmers learn on the kind of equipment they might see when they graduate and work on a production farm.”

To read more, visit www.theleafchronicle.com