Using history to break ground on new Agricultural Complex at CCC

A greenfield at the edge of the Chemeketa Community College (CCC) campus in Salem, Oregon will soon be the new home of a 14,500-square-foot mass timber office and classroom building. The ground-breaking ceremony uniquely utilized historic cultivating techniques from a horse-drawn plow, to a steam engine tractor, and ended with the modern tractor and plow turning dirt to signify the beginning of construction.

The facility will allow growth to train students and aid in continued partnerships with Oregon State University and local high schools to meet the growing demands in the agriculture and horticulture industries. Students and faculty will have access to a 100-person outdoor amphitheater, hoop greenhouses, and outdoor cultivation research including pollinators, urban fruit forest, woody ornamentals, and organic vegetable garden.