Mike Ryan, Tonganoxie, is working toward a certificate in sustainable agriculture from Johnson County Community College. Ryan is taking his classes in Lawrence at the Lawrence Virtual School, 2145 La. He's pictured at Hoyland Farm, where he works.

Ryan Towns received a certificate in manufacturing from Johnson County Community College. The program is one of several that JCCC offers in Lawrence.

Mike Ryan said he’s had enough with corporate farms and their bottom lines.

“We need to decentralize the food system we’ve got going on,” the 28-year-old Tonganoxie resident said. “In terms of commercial food, there’s not as much interest in consumer welfare as there once was.”

So Ryan decided to take matters into his own hands and learn how to grow his own food.

Last fall, he enrolled in Johnson County Community College classes in Lawrence to earn a certificate in sustainable agriculture. He hopes to complete his training later this year.

JCCC started offering classes toward the certificate last year. This summer, the college will offer classes in Olathe toward the sustainable agriculture certificate, and a certificate in manufacturing out of Lawrence.

“These classes combine to create a good, baseline level of knowledge and skills,” said Loralee Stevens, assistant dean of JCCC’s Community Outreach for Credit Instruction.

Stevens said the certificates were designed so students could earn them in two or three semesters. This helps students save money and gives them a competitive edge in the job market, she said.

Stevens said JCCC worked with area manufacturing companies to develop a curriculum for a manufacturing certificate based on their needs. She said she worked with Berry Plastics, 2330 Packer Road, and Sauer-Danfoss Inc., 3840 Greenway Circle.

“The companies expressed an interest in having employees who met these qualifications instead of hiring people off the street without basic skills,” she said.

Ryan Towns, 19, of Lawrence, enrolled in JCCC last summer to get a certificate in manufacturing. The certificate gave him the opportunity to pursue his love of welding and to work with Sauer-Danfoss as a operations technician.

He has since been laid off, but said it doesn’t bother him.

“When the recession eases out, I’m confident I’ll be able to find a job,” Towns said. “The certificate in manufacturing gives me a competitive edge.”

Ryan, the sustainable agriculture student, is a few credit hours short of completing his certificate, but said the “back-to-basics methodology” he’s learned and the convenience of the classes have been well worth the time and energy.

“The people there understand that people have lives outside their academic responsibilities,” he said.

He said the classes in Lawrence make it easier for people to come from all over for classes.

Ryan will be working in Olathe at the Kansas State University training farm. He said he’ll use the hands-on skills he learns this summer to further develop his home garden so he can start selling at farmers’ markets.