College Diploma - Horticulture - Food and Farming (AAGR)

Program Description Guided by a field-to-fork philosophy, this program prepares students to be leaders in the rapidly evolving food sector. Working in a one-of-a-kind environment, you will learn to create the wholesome, locally produced, farm-fresh food in demand by today’s consumers, and how you can contribute solutions to communities looking to feed cities in creative and sustainable ways. In addition, you will experience how agri-tourism brings urban residents to farming and will have an enhanced awareness of local food production. With more than 50 hours of your time spent in the labs and fields of the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, you will gain a unique hands-on opportunity to become familiar with the concepts that are critical to the food and agricultural industry, all within the context of a field-to-fork philosophy. You will learn in our fields, greenhouses, hoop house and state-of-the-art food chemistry and processing labs, while planning for, planting, tending to and harvesting more than 50 different varieties of produce, berry bushes, herbs and more. Through the development of your own value-added food products, you will have a greater knowledge and understanding of the opportunities that come with food production. Whether you are interested in a career with a food company, managing a food operation, developing your own food product or owning a greenhouse or production farm, you will gain critical skills in modern farming concepts and food processing to position you as an industry leader. The Food and Farming program will offer you a hands-on opportunity to become familiar with the concepts of food production. You will focus on: Plant propagation Soil and plant nutrition Fruit and vegetable production under field, greenhouse, garden and container conditions Product development Food processing including niche processing of local foods Food and agriculture regulations Disease and pest management Business practices including product branding, entrepreneurship and marketing. It will be offered at the Whitby campus, home of the college’s new Centre for Food. This incredible new learning centre will undergo further expansion to include orchards, agricultural fields, greenhouses and more. Students will also utilize the specialized laboratories at the college’s Oshawa campus and participate in several field trips through the year. Please note: Students will be required to purchase green tag safety boots in order to participate in many laboratory settings. Career options: Coordinator of environmental and community projects with municipalities Farm manager or production assistant on vegetable or fruit farms Manager or coordinator of roof-top and community gardens Manager or production assistant for crop production in greenhouses Owner/operator of your own food production farm Production manager or assistant for specialty or national brand food companies Quality control technician Product development technician