Ahmed Rady: A Worldly Professor

In an office located on the first floor of the Career Academy at Bismarck State College, Assistant Teaching Professor of Agriculture, Technology, and Natural Resources Ahmed Rady prepares to teach a small class on precision agriculture.

Precision agriculture is a type of farming that uses technology like GPS, sensors, and drones in an attempt to keep farming more controlled and accurate when it comes to crops and livestock. This is a new form of farming that Rady has the opportunity to teach at BSC, along with other, more technological, topics.

“I teach an agriculture mathematics course—I also teach intro to weed science,” Rady said.

Rady’s study of technology and agriculture did not begin in the United States. Rather, he began studying agricultural engineering at Alexandria University, in his birth country of Egypt.

“I studied agricultural engineering specifically because I like the idea of applying engineering in agriculture,” Rady said. “And this is what made me select this branch of science when I was in Egypt, in Alexandria University, and I was able to kind of score highest amongst the whole faculty of agriculture in Alexandria at this time.”

After scoring well in the agriculture faculty in Alexandria, Rady was hired as a teaching assistant at the university. He then finished his masters in agriculture engineering before receiving a scholarship to study his PhD at Michigan State in 2008. There, he earned his PhD in Biosystems Engineering.

Rady started working at BSC in August 2025. He has completed one full semester of teaching so far and is currently in his spring semester of teaching, which means he has experienced a Bismarck winter. He said that he likes Bismarck, except for the cold.

“You know the snow is okay because in Michigan, the snow, I think it's much, much more, much worse than here,” Rady said with a laugh. “But the cold is a bit severe. For me, at least.”

Rady has lived in six different places since coming to Bismarck. These include Alexandria, Egypt, East Landing, Michigan, Lexington, Kentucky, Dublin, Ireland, Nottingham, UK, and Cranfield, UK. His favorite places to live have been his home city of Alexandria, East Landing, and Dublin.

Through the various places he has lived, Rady has seen the differences in agriculture and farming from Europe and the U.S. For example, Europe does not use precision ag technology.

“They are still, maybe you can say, conservative from the environmental point of view. I think they are able to maybe think before applying, they don't take the risk as they do here,” Rady said.

Agriculture in Europe is also different due to the area used for farming versus the area for farming in North Dakota. Farms in Europe are generally hundreds of acres smaller than those in the U.S., which means farming techniques differ from each other. Farming equipment is another way farming is different, as some countries in Europe do not have the space or need for such technology. In Egypt, farming equipment proves to be an expensive endeavor for farmers.

“Ownership in Egypt is like two to five acres,” Rady said. “The average is two to five acres because, you know, we have like 94, 93, 92% of the whole country as desert. So it's not arable. You can grow the remaining area, you know, with at least 50, 60 million people living in the countryside of that country. So if you divide the number of people by the area, it would be so small.”

As different parts of the world continue to evolve in their farming practices, the U.S. seeks to use more digital means for advancing farming techniques. One of the technologies Rady said he would like to have at BSC are drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles. 

“I see it as a trend here in the U.S. and specifically in North Dakota, because you guys have a humungous amount of field heads that you grow with field crops,” Rady said. “So the economic profit of applying UAVs or drones in general is really high for farmers here. It just needs some technical skills. A person should be able to equip him or herself with this skill so they can, you know, kind of achieve the accuracy with a minimum price or cost for the farmer.”

Rady added that, as the college prepares new four-year degrees, there are other courses he would like to see for a four-year ag degree, such as statistical analysis for agri business or more courses on digital agriculture, though he acknowledged the department would need the hardware for such things.

As Rady finds himself occupied and busy with teaching ag classes, he said he likes that BSC links science with the industry.

“They try to strongly link the industry with the program here, which makes the program attractive for students,” Rady said.

Rady also said he appreciates the support from the other ag department faculty. They have been helpful in giving Rady advice as he learns more about BSC from his first year at the college.

“As a teacher, I'd like to help students to kind of transfer some of the experience that I have developed over the years,” Rady said. “At the same time, I am not from a farming background, so I'd also like to get some experience from these guys where I know they have been working and farming since they were so young … It might help me to open some areas for grants for research, where I can do some small projects with students, so they can know how to brainstorm and do some trials in their own form to use some precision ag technologies that might develop or enhance their farming outputs.”

Rady, a professor who has travelled to and lived in many different countries, has only just started his journey at BSC. But with his goals in mind for the future, the college’s connection with industry and academia, and his passion for learning, he can continue to share his knowledge experiences with students.