December 2, 2025. Students majoring in Automotive Technology at Pittsburg State University will have the opportunity to learn on a valuable, state-of-the-art piece of equipment that will better prepare them for industry, thanks to a donation by an alumnus of the program.
Kelly Burgess (BST ’01), a representative of Case New Holland, presented a T6.180 Methane Power Tractor to the program as a way to give back.
“I went to school here, and they invested so much in me that when I saw an opportunity to give back, I took the opportunity,” he said.
The tractor is the world’s first 100 percent methane-powered production tractor. Farmers grow crops, use the waste products to generate biomethane, which powers the tractor, which in turn helps grow crops.
The tractor produces 98 percent less particulate matter and reduces C02 emissions and overall emissions by 80 percent.