Alumnus Supports Student-led Initiative With Purchase Of Grain Cart

New Grain Cart donated by Roy Kubica. Photo submitted

Lakeland College students wanted to improve farm operations, but without funding to do so the vision wouldn’t be able to come to life. Luckily for the students Roy Kubica came to the rescue and provided the students with a brand new Demco 1050 grain cart and it was unveiled at the Vermilion campus on November 19. Kubica’s $80,000 gift supported the purchase of the new grain cart as well as any required student leadership initiatives around its use.

“When I started farming, there were so many things I learned at Lakeland that I used in the field,” says Kubica, Class of 1966. “I had taken animal husbandry, fertilizers, soils – and we were using all of it. I never married and have no children, so some of the income I’ve generated over the years, I am using to support Lakeland. That assistance is now being used by students to support their future.”

This is far from the first major contribution Kubica has made to Lakeland. His past support allowed Lakeland to expand its land base. In 2015, he began the Roy J. Kubica Agriculture Scholarship and began the Roy J. Kubica Agriculture Bursary in 2020.

“Throughout the years, Roy has been so supportive of our college and students. His generosity made it possible for us to grow our campus farm and I know so many students have been helped by his ongoing support of our awards program. This grain cart is another wonderful contribution, one that will enhance hands-on learning opportunities for our students using the latest agricultural technology. We are so grateful for his ongoing support and are thankful for all he has done for Lakeland and our future ag leaders,” says Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, president and CEO of Lakeland College.

The new grain cart is equipped with scales to weight each load of grain and will hold 1,000 bushels and works with the Agrimatics Libra grain cart inventory platform. The weights will automatically download into the program so the combine operator will see how large each load of grain is as it’s unloading allowing the information to be stored in the Libra program for inventory tracking.

“This addition to our fleet adds so many new opportunities for hands-on learning and technological training, which is the backbone of Lakeland’s education system – to learn by doing,” says Tyson Krpan, second-year crop technology student and analysis manager on the SMF crop unit. “We will easily and accurately be able to track our yield and grain inventory, increase efficiency in the bin yard, and have much more confidence when making decisions about grain contracts.”

Georff Brown, dean of agricultural sciences at Lakeland commented that one of the great things about the learning experiences available through the Student-Managed Farm-Powered by New Holland (SMF) is that students have to plan for the future and ask what needs to be done for long-term success.

“They developed a proposal for the cart and we are so appreciative that once again, Roy Kubica-an alumnus and long-time supporter- stepped forward to bring our students’ ideas to life,” said Brown