“We're hoping to be a part of what drives the agricultural sector,” Brian Vaillancourt, dean of the School of Trades and Applied Research, told Northern Ontario Business. “It's hard to get youth interested in farming, but in the North they are talking more about farming.”
The program focuses on animal and plant sciences, and students choose which field they’d like to specialize in.
The courses cover a variety of topics including: finances, labour and growing methods. In addition, mandatory summer work placements put students on farms to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom.
There’s also a program in place to help students land a job right out of school.
“That’s what we’re responding to,” Daniel Lapointe, a professor with the school of business and applied technology, told Northern Ontario Business. “All of the importance put on agriculture, the low price of land (in the northern part of the province), and that people want to grow local food.”
Lapointe said being a farmer means being your own boss, and the public appreciates farmers because farmers provide meals for them.
Interestingly, Vaillancourt was raised on a bison farm and Lapointe grew up on a dairy farm.