The public is invited to an open house on Tuesday, October 26 of the recently completed Cloud County Community College Agriculture Arena.
The open house will be from 3-5 at the new Arena, which is located south of the college, off 140th Road (Republican Street). Those in attendance will be able to tour the facility, as well as meet Cloud’s Agriculture instructors and students. Refreshments will be served.
Ground was broken for the facility in October 2019. It was officially completed in May 2021 and gifted to the college by the Cloud County Community College Foundation in June 2021.
“The Foundation started this project to assist in filling needs of Cloud County’s Ag Department,” said Heather Gennette, Foundation director. “The discussion for this project began in 2018 with the hopes of a small pole shed to accommodate the Precision Agriculture program’s tractor.”
The small project grew into a $400,000 80×100 multi-purpose agriculture arena. The arena will meet the needs of the Ag Department’s growing enrollment, and provide space for equipment and livestock. The arena will also serve as a lab space for classes, practice space for the judging and equestrian teams, and a presentation space for demonstrations and training sessions.
The project was largely grant-funded with awards from the Cloud County Commissions, the Sunderland Foundation and the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. The remainder of the funding came from the CCCC Foundation Executive Committee.
“The Ag Department has been blessed with a tremendous amount of support to facilitate the addition of an indoor space for activities that students can participate in,” said Jamison Gross, instructor in Agriculture and Department Chair. “The pretense of this structure has increased the interest and enrollment of our teams that represent Cloud, and allowed us to no longer let weather affect classes or an instruction that has traditionally been conducted outside.
“We’re currently using the barn for equestrian team practices. In the future we hope to host clinics and other agricultural activities that community members can participate in. We are hopeful that in the next year we will be adding sheep goats and cattle to the facility.”