(Video screengrab from University of Guelph/OAC video via YouTube)

OAC to offer new master’s program in plant agriculture

New program would run alongside research-based degrees

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario Agricultural College is seeking approvals to offer a new master’s degree in plant agriculture, which would designate plant science professionals operating at a grad-school level but not on the traditional research-based path. OAC said Wednesday its proposed new “master of plant agriculture” (MPAg) program would allow recent graduates and professionals to “quickly upgrade education […] Read more

“We’re on the cusp of an industrial revolution within the agriculture sector,” says one senior economist at RBC.

Multiple choice(s) for an ag education

Finding the best way to integrate business studies with farm skills is becoming an educational must

Reading Time: 7 minutes It takes a ton of skilled farmers — and workers — to manage Canada’s 40 million acres of grains, 25 million acres of oilseeds, 14 million hogs and 12 million cattle. And, increasingly, that means not just time in the field and barn, but also in the office, in the meeting room and on the […] Read more


Dr. Clarence Swanton.

Pest Patrol: Thank you, Dr. Clarence Swanton

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 2 minutes “Matty Cowlick” is indifferent to the recent retirement of Dr. Clarence Swanton, weed scientist in the department of plant agriculture at the University of Guelph. But I’m happy for him. I’m happy that Clarence will continue with his research program and to advise graduate students, and happy that he will have more time to spend […] Read more

Figure 4.

Pest Patrol: Use your phone to capture and document pest activity

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 3 minutes “If you want to have the upper hand on weeds, you need to know every little detail about their existence.” The above quote is straight from the great Jack Alex, retired botany professor and herbarium curator at the Ontario Agriculture College, who used to repeat it to me at every opportunity. Fortunately, most of us […] Read more


The associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan says that for more than a decade there have been more women than men in the ag programs.

‘Super Keen’

Ag education is hot, and enrolment is booming from coast to coast

Reading Time: 8 minutes It’s inspiring for anyone in agriculture to talk to the principals and deans at ag-related academic institutions across the country. More than ever in history, young Canadians are pursuing careers in ag. In a nutshell, it’s because there are jobs in agriculture after school — good jobs that offer exciting and interesting career paths for […] Read more

(NorthGrenville.ca)

Community to ‘transform’ Guelph’s Kemptville ag campus

Reading Time: 3 minutes The home municipality for Ontario Agricultural College’s (OAC) former Kemptville campus is set to remake the site as an “education and community hub.” The municipality of North Grenville, which includes Kemptville, about 40 km south of Ottawa, closed a deal in December to purchase the Kemptville ag campus, with the official transfer due to take […] Read more


Rene Van Acker, dean of the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC).

Jobs survey finds growing demand for agriculture graduates

Ontario Agriculture College boosts spots in its agriculture programs by 30 per cent

Reading Time: 3 minutes The University of Guelph continues to increase enrolment in its agriculture programs, but graduates will continue to find four jobs available for each of them. The Ontario Agriculture College (OAC), at the university has boosted spots in its agriculture programs by 30 per cent since 2012 and by 50 per cent in its Bachelor of […] Read more

A flowering tansy ragwort plant during August.

Pest Patrol: How do I control tansy ragwort in my pasture?

#PestPatrol with Mike Cowbrough, OMAFRA

Reading Time: 2 minutes By Kate Ayers University of Guelph, Ontario Agriculture College Tansy ragwort is a noxious weed most often found in pastures and hayfields. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial that reproduces through seeds and roots. Tansy is poisonous to livestock and can cause liver damage. Symptoms that may occur after plant consumption include: weakness, high […] Read more


(UoGuelph.ca/Alfred)

Guelph animal science department rebrands

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Ontario Agricultural College’s department of animal and poultry science has hatched a new name meant to better take in the scope of its work. The new name, the Department of Animal Biosciences, “helps describe the department’s evolution from a livestock husbandry department in the 1870s to the highly dynamic and integrated department it is […] Read more

(KemptvilleC.UoGuelph.ca)

Ont. group to weigh school models for Kemptville

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Ontario government has set up its working group to consider options for the Ontario Agricultural College’s Kemptville campus beyond this year. The University of Guelph, which operates OAC, announced in spring 2014 it would wind down operations at its Kemptville and Alfred satellite campuses and consolidate its ag education and research operations at its […] Read more