On Saturday, October 20th we visited the Hoober Inc. shop in Middletown, DE. It was an eye-opening day, full of learning and first-hand experience. First, the company’s history and services were explained. After receiving an explanation of the services provided, we took a tour of the facilities and the shop. We got the chance to see tractors and spreaders being worked on and complete models of combines and harvesters. It was intriguing to see how much work goes into precision agriculture. We learned that their store, the auto-steer is the most popular precision ag equipment sold. Precision ag is a field that offers many jobs, looking for applicants that are tech savvy and can work under pressure. A new and emerging precision ag technology being used are drones for filed scouting and spray applications.
** precision ag – managing crop production inputs (seed, fertilizer, lime, pesticides, etc.) on a site-specific basis to increase profits, reduce waste and maintain environmental quality.
On October 20th, the AGRI130 class took a trip slightly down the state to Middletown, Delaware. There they visited a tractor and farm equipment dealership known as Hoober, Inc. Upon arriving the class was met by two employees who started out by relaying the history of the company and how it became what is it today. While the company does sell many Kubota products and landscape equipment, Hoober is also a Case IH dealer. The class was able to take a tour through the shop and most of the property. There the class learned that a new combine with new heads can easily cost over half a million dollars! The class was able to view combines, sprayers, and planters to name a few. Near the end of the tour the class was split into groups to learn about drone use in agriculture and to drive a sprayer and a tractor. When it was time to leave the entire class was given Hoober hats. The tractor rides seemed to be the highlight for multiple students. It was a fantastic field trip and the two guides were extremely friendly and knowledgable.
A Class Journal for UDel CANR AGRI 130
