Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hohenwald will be offering a new Forestry and Agriculture Program coming in the Fall of 2021. The Forestry and Agriculture Technology Program will be aligned to meet the needs of workforce development associated with the forestry and agriculture industry. The program will prepare a student with an understanding of Forestry and Agriculture. The Forestry and Ag Program will be held on the main campus of TCAT Hohenwald as well as at the new Bevis Higher Education Center in Collinwood, TN. The Tennessee Forestry Association took an interest in supporting the curriculum, in particular, Larry Pitts, Workforce Development Coordinator, along with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner Charlie Hatcher and Assistant Commissioner, Carol McDonald.

The skilled student would be able to gain an entry position into the forestry and agricultural industry. The program would provide technical instruction and skill development for the student to become knowledgeable as a forestry worker, agricultural technician or operator of equipment. This course is to provide trainees with a thorough understanding of the methods of forest product, harvesting timber, protecting forests, agri-business, soil science, basic electricity, maintenance and repairing machinery equipment, welding, basic sawmill operation and heavy equipment operation. Training would also include safety of equipment and equipment operation and specifications.

The program will be one year in length with three trimesters or 1296 clock hours for completion. There are two certificates, Forestry Worker and Agri-Business, and a final diploma with the completion of the one year program, Forestry Technician Diploma. TCAT President, Kelli Kea-Carroll commented, “We have been delighted to be supported by the Tennessee Forestry Association to add the Forestry and Ag Technology Program with the Tennessee Board of Regents approving our program at the June TBR Meeting. The offering will be held on our main campus and will hopefully branch to many more secondary offerings for Dual Enrollment.”

For Dual Enrollment, the Career Cluster will fall under the Department of Education’s Agriculture Cluster. The enrollment for the new program will be online via the TCAT Website. For enrollment, please visit tcathohenwald.edu to access the application.