NORFOLK, Neb. -- A community college in northeast Nebraska celebrated a huge milestone, with the ribbon-cutting for new agricultural facilities on Tuesday afternoon.

Northeast Community College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newest facilities, the veterinarian technology building, and the farm operations large animal handling facility on the Acklie Family College Farm. According to Northeast's website, the cost of construction for the project was $19,748,000, with another $2.5 million for furnishings and equipment. 

The veterinarian technology building will serve as a classroom for Northeast students. The building includes labs, a surgery suite, kennels, and exercise areas for on-site animals as well as collaborative spaces for student and faculty use. The farm operations large animal handling facility will provide shop space, a bud box for working with large animals, and horse stalls among other outdoor agriculture facilities in and around the Acklie Family College Farm. 

"We are excited to be officially opening the doors of these new facilities," Northeast President Leah Barrett said during the ceremony. "With the new veterinarian technology facility and the new college farm facilities, the college is positioning itself to be a leader in the field, with 13 different ag-related programs of study and 14 full-time faculty. We are now making plans to double the number of tech-vet students being admitted into our program and we plan to be able to offer more hands-on applied learning opportunities for both credit and non-credit students."

The ribbon was cut by Phyllis Acklie, whose Acklie Foundation was the lead gifter for the Ag-facilities with $5 million. Afterward, members of the crowd were able to tour both buildings and visit with students faculty as well as other members of the college.