TORRINGTON – The Agriculture Technology Education Center at Eastern Wyoming College received a financial boost last week, to the tune of a $50,000 donation from the Panhandle Coop System.

John Hansen, director of Institutional Development for EWC, said in a press release from the college, the investment “will help advance agricultural education at EWC and ensure our students are on the cutting edge of technology. ATEC, as it’s designed, will strengthen and propel EWC forward in precision agriculture, agronomy and animal science and, with Panhandle’s investment, students will be industry ready.

Finding qualified people to work at all levels of the agriculture industry is a growing challenge, Charlie Wright, president and CEO of the Panhandle Coop said. Making EWC a “premier educator” in the agriculture arena will show strong returns for the area.

“Our region has a need for qualified agriculture employees that wish to reside in our region not only for service companies such as Panhandle Cooperative, but also the private sector which has a large need with farmers and ranchers,” Wright was quoted in the press release. “We are happy to contribute to this opportunity for the good of our patron owners as well as ourselves.”

Current designs of the future ATEC facility call for four separate laboratories and a 200-seat lecture hall as well as traditional classrooms at a 15,000 square foot demonstration space that can be used for conferences, livestock clinics and more. The Eastern Wyoming College Foundation is currently in the midst of a $1.2 million fundraising campaign to help finance the project.

“The Foundation is very grateful to Panhandle Coop’s generous investment,” Foundation President Todd Peterson said. “Panhandle Coop has been a very strong stakeholder for many years in Eastern Wyoming College’s service area.”