Modesto Junior College: Training the Next Generation of Irrigation Professionals
A Rubicon BladeValve on Modesto Junior College’s demonstration farm.
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ocated in the heart of California’s Central Valley, Modesto Junior College plays an important role in training students to work in today’s agriculture industry. As part of that process, it promotes new agricultural methods and technologies. In this interview, Irrigation Leader speaks with agriculture instructor Ryan Patterson about Modesto Junior College’s irrigation and agriculture mechanics programs, which are giving students hands-on experience with new technologies, such as Rubicon gate systems. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Ryan Patterson: I grew up in Penn Valley, California, a small foothill community 2 hours northeast of Modesto. I’ve spent the last 17 years as a high school agriculture instructor, focusing primarily on agriculture mechanics, which includes welding, fabrication, electricity, plumbing, and various other mechanical skills. Over the past 6 or 7 years, I’ve also been an adjunct teacher at Modesto Junior College, where I work in the welding and agriculture departments.
Ryan Patterson: One word to describe Modesto Junior College is broad. The college can help students who want to take general education classes before they transfer to a 4‑year university as well as those who want to gain technical training, complete their associate’s degrees, and move directly into their careers. Other students attend Modesto to add to their skill set through a certificate program before starting a new job. Modesto Junior College is well known
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Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about the demonstration farm at Modesto Junior College? Ryan Patterson: The farm is the home of our production beef, dairy, swine, and sheep units as well as an equestrian unit. On the back corner of the pasture, along the canal, is our irrigation unit, which includes a holding pond with four pumps and two filter systems. We have a full solar setup and a submersible pump running off 100 percent solar energy or, if need be, a utility power unit provided by Modesto Irrigation District. All our pumps are controlled by variablefrequency drives and have sensors to monitor pressure and flow for each pump output. The unit is constructed to run any type of irrigation system commonly found in California on a small scale. The newest system includes the Rubicon high-performance surface irrigation system. We installed a Rubicon SlipMeter; Rubicon BladeValves; a gateway, which is a communications device; and a weather station. We converted our existing flood-irrigated pasture to the Rubicon BladeValve system. The farm, the irrigation system, and the agricultural pavilion are on the West Campus. The pavilion is a central meeting place where the college holds livestock shows, tractor pulls, fundraiser dinners, and other community events. The pavilion also holds our plant and animal science classrooms, a full kitchen, a lobby, and meeting areas. Our welding and power mechanics classes are taught on the irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE.
Irrigation Leader: Please introduce Modesto Junior College.
for the quality of our agriculture and environmental sciences department, which includes ag mechanics, plant and animal sciences, and horticulture.
