The Prairie State Technology Center is a state-of- the-art facility created with the purpose of educating agriculturalists on the value of information management and the foundational applications needed to glean that value.

The facility is largely funded and staffed by AutoFarm, manufacturer of high accuracy GPS machine control technology based in Fremont, CA, and SST Development Group, a software and information management service company based in Stillwater, OK.

Attendees of the technology center have access to GPS data collection and GIS software training in a computer lab featuring 12 workstations, a SMART Board, and ruggedized SST Field PCs at each station.

The facility features 40 cultivated acres surrounding the computer lab to accommodate hands-on training with soil sampling, the AutoFarm RTK AutoSteer system, handheld GPS data collection software and hardware, variable rate controllers, and more. Tractors and ATVs are fully equipped with the most widely used precision ag hardware. This combination of hardware and software training gives attendees a holistic approach to the technologies being rapidly adopted in today’s agriculture.

A conference room featuring another SMART Board is used for meetings, video conferencing, and small training sessions. Several large buildings on the property can also be used for large conferences, corporate meetings, and other gatherings.

The Prairie State Technology Center is being spearheaded by Precision Ag Equipment Co., a company specializing in precision agriculture hardware sales and implementation services based in Arthur, IL, and Crop IMS, an independent provider of crop production services, based in Collinsville, IL.

For more information, please visit the Prairie State Technology Center on line.