By Katherine Gibson (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 5, 2014
Just weeks away from its planned opening on February 15, UFV’s new Centre of Excellence in Agriculture is surrounded by excitement and anticipation by students, faculty, and members of the industry alike.
These buildings will provide a central location for UFV students and others interested in the field to study and receive training relevant to the agriculture industry.
“We’re in the heart of the bread basket of B.C., so there’s some sense to UFV being a hub, especially when we’re right in agriculture central,” explains facilities and campus development executive director Craig Toews.
“We have a program in agriculture that is fairly [broad] and we do have connections with a lot of these other institutions,” he says. “We also have the ministry of agriculture right across the highway and there are a lot of high-end research labs there.”
While learning the ins and outs of the industry is important, Toews also notes that it is integral for UFV’s agriculture training to remain relevant to the industry.
“There’s a lot of economic focus on agriculture within the municipal areas that we have campuses — so we have really strong connections with the industry,” Toews says. “If we don’t have industry involved, we don’t really have a real check and balance in terms of [whether or not] we are training students with the skills that the industry really needs for jobs.”
For Toews, one key feature that will allow UFV to remain relevant comes in the form of technology. From “warm barns,” which simulate the differing environments needed for raising livestock, and specially designed greenhouses on campus to the mechanized milking of cows, Toews highlights the advanced ways UFV students will be able to use their technological training locally.
“Farmers have this technology; [they’re] partnered up with someone to give it to them, but who do they have locally to maintain, operate, and program these things?” asks Toews. “We want to train automation technicians … who can actually get out there and do this [locally].”
While the agriculture industry is full of job opportunities for UFV students, Toews believes that in order to better engage students, the stereotypes surrounding farming need to be broken.
“We need to go back into high school and … start breaking the myths around agriculture … it’s not just about muddy boots and Mom and Dad losing their shirt on a farm where it’s very difficult to make a living,” he says.
“We need to break that myth because there are all sorts of exciting careers and opportunities in agriculture now.”
