Richland Community College
Richland Community College, founded in 1972, serves an eight-county district around Decatur, Illinois. Richland’s vision is to be the premier source for education, workforce training, partnerships, and economic development. Richland boasts a prime location in the heart of Illinois’ farmland. The campus location also includes a farm that is owned and operated by the Richland Foundation.
Richland offers two-year Associate in Applied Science degrees in Horticulture and Agribusiness, along with the opportunity to complete individual Agriculture coursework as part of an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree for transfer to a four-year university. Horticulture students work at a student farm on campus, learning about small farm agriculture and contributing to a weekly produce market and annual plant sale.
Students who complete the two-year Agribusiness degree are entitled to guaranteed transfer to the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through an articulation agreement. Richland is proud to host the Farm Progress Show, the nation’s largest outdoor farm event, every other year at its main campus.
In 2017, Richland students and faculty conducted cover crop testing and research at its Foundation farm. This partnership, renewed through 2022, provides a bridge between the Agriculture curriculum and the Environmental Studies curriculum and a connection to the National Sequestration Education Center, also located at the main campus. The National Sequestration Education Center has provided leading research and active contribution in the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. Richland is advancing its agriculture curriculum by expanding its reach to its educational and business partners.
