Justin Wege was a farm kid, so he knows how to work hard. From his early mornings milking cows to years in dealership service management, Justin’s path to teaching was shaped by hands-on experience.
As the Department Chair for the FVTC Precision Agriculture and Agriculture Mechanics programs, he brings a wealth of knowledge to his students. Justin’s advice is simple: “You get out of it what you put into it. Be willing to try things. Not everything is meant for everybody but be open-minded and try something at least once. You might find that you actually like something new.”
Get to know Justin, why he chose education and the lessons he hopes students carry with them into the ag industry.
What classes do you teach?
I teach a lot of different classes here at the college. I teach Mechanics and Precision classes, as well as some Agronomy classes. I also teach in our Farm Operations program, so I teach Dealership Management, Intro to Precision Ag, Agronomy Equipment, Advanced Hydraulics, Advanced Precision Planting, Precision Equipment Systems… really anything on the Precision Ag side.
What did you do before you worked at FVTC?
I grew up on a farm near New London, then went to UW-River Falls for engineering. After college, I did some test engineering work and tech support for numerous companies, then worked at a dealership as both a technician and a service manager. I have about 15 years of service management experience on Case and New Holland equipment.
Why did you decide to go into teaching?
Well, funny thing is, I was bringing a student up here to look at the Ag Mechanics program, and happened to run into a former instructor here, Tom Yost, who told me they were hiring and wondered if I was interested. We started chatting back and forth. My wife and I had just had our first child, and we wanted to move back closer to our roots, so the timing worked out.
The biggest reason I took the job opportunity was to make a difference. Seeing what we were seeing with entry-level technicians coming into a dealership and seeing where they struggle, I wanted to bring my life experiences back and apply them to the classroom to hopefully better prepare people when they enter the workforce.
What do you enjoy most about the classes you teach?
I enjoy that every day is different here. I teach a lot of classes that are not taught traditionally in the classroom. We have a lot of classes that are taught from out in the field. Every day I learn something new about the equipment, and sometimes the students are teaching me things that are going on, so every day is something different. It’s what issue are we going to have today with a piece of equipment and technology that we’re using?
What’s one piece of advice you have for students?
My advice to students is you get out of it what you put into it. If you’re not willing to put the effort in to learn something new, or sometimes get outside of your comfort zone, your experience is not going to be as valuable. Be willing to try things. Not everything is meant for everybody, but it’s key that you’re willing to be open-minded and try something at least once. You might find that you actually like something new.
What skill are you currently working on?
I’m always working on creative ways to use technology. For example, a lot of our tractors have different displays in them. So how can I get that so a student doesn’t always have to sit in that piece of equipment? How do we create some sort of interactive tool that they can practice with so that they don’t feel intimidated? Some of the equipment we deal with is quite large and expensive. So the intimidation factor is there.
I’m also learning different approaches we can use to reach our students. Every student is different, and since COVID, we’ve seen changes in the way our students learn. How do we adjust to that? How do I get a little bit more creative? I think that’s something I’ll learn until the day I leave.
What’s one thing about you that might surprise your students?
I actually started in the medical career. I majored in pre-med when I started college, and worked in an emergency room and drove an ambulance. However, when I saw how difficult the field was, I went back to what I knew. Now today, I’m right back to what I know, which is farming.
What do you like to do outside of the classroom?
I hunt, fish, and spend time with my little guy. I have an eight-year-old son. One of the reasons I came to the college was to have some flexibility to spend time with him as he grows up. You only get to watch them grow up once.
What was your first job?
Working on the neighbor’s farm. Milking cows at 5 in the morning, every day, even on weekends. I was told if you want things in life, you need to work for them. So at the age of 12, I started working at the neighbor’s farm, and they’d come pick me up and drop me off. In the wintertime, I could take the snowmobile across the field.
What was your best job?
I’ve had a lot of interesting jobs. At one point I was a service manager covering the state of Illinois with two technicians, and we were looking at vegetable harvesting equipment. So that was interesting because it’s outside of the realm of what we see here in northeast Wisconsin. I also once had an internship where I traveled to Portland, Oregon to work at a cucumber grading facility and did a green bean harvest. I’ve really enjoyed all my jobs. It’s about what’s best for me and my family at the time, and how I can help out—that’s what really makes me happy. Right now, I’m happy being here. I’m happy with working with students, hoping they take the knowledge with them to keep the ag industry strong. That’s really my goal.
Lightning Round
Vacation: beach or mountains?
Mountains
Winter or summer?
Summer
City or country?
Country
Fiction or nonfiction?
Don’t know. I guess I’m not a book reader.
Messy desk or clean desk?
Oh, clean.
Cat person or dog person?
Dog
Morning person or night owl?
Used to be a night owl. Now I’m a morning person.
What’s your go to comfort food?
Pizza
What’s the last TV show you binge watched?
Landman
