DES MOINES – On February 12, during the 2020 Agribusiness Career Day, Kevin Muhlenbruch of North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) received the Growing Hands Award. The Agribusiness Career Day is held in conjunction with the Agribusiness Showcase & Conference and hosts over 250 students each year.
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation created this recognition for junior college agriculture instructors. Without the guidance, tutelage, and effort of agriculture instructors, the ag industry would not have the thriving workforce we see today.
Muhlenbruch is a son of a dairy farmer and teacher, it is understandable how his passion for teaching agriculture has spanned the lifetime of his career. After graduation from Iowa State University, he began his teaching career at the K-12 level in Albert Lea, Minnesota and later Rockford, Iowa.
He is passionate about sustainable agriculture and has spent the majority of his career studying the use of no-till and strip tillage technologies at NIACC farm. He has invested countless hours building relationships with agri-businesses of NIACC that have yielded beneficial partnerships for the college’s teaching lab, valuable internship opportunities for students, and ultimately full-time employment for hundreds of alumni.
His love for agriculture is only super-ceded by his love for North Iowa Area Community College, the campus, faculty and students, and his generosity and willingness to always give back and help others. He joined the NIACC faculty in 1988, where he teaches Agronomy and Precision Agriculture.
The Agribusiness Association of Iowa Foundation promotes research projects, member education, stewardship and scholarships that benefit AAI members and their families. The charitable goals of the Foundation reflect the interests of the agribusiness industry and benefit AAI members by promoting research projects, member education, stewardship and higher education scholarships. Within these three areas, the Foundation assists applicants as it is related to the benefit of the agribusiness industry.
