From the field to the plate, Lethbridge College’s newest program addresses the needs of a changing agricultural and agri-food sector by focusing on business solutions relevant to the industry. The Agricultural Enterprise Management (AEM) program is an innovative, integrated credential that has been developed in partnership with the University of Lethbridge’s Faculty of Management.
The program will bring together economics, management and production to deliver a balanced curriculum that will give students a strong foundation in the business of agriculture.
“Agriculture is a $110-billion per year industry in Canada and represents more than seven per cent of the national GDP,” says Dennis Sheppard, Lethbridge College’s Dean of the Centre for Applied Management. “Primary production operations continue to transform into large-scale enterprises responsible for employing 2.3 million Canadians, and compared to other developed or developing nations, Canada ranks eighth in terms of export. This leaves a huge opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to invest in value-added processing and highly technological means of creating efficiency and bottom-line wealth.”
Lethbridge College’s two-year AEM diploma program received provincial approval in the fall and registration is now open for students to start their studies in September 2018.
Agricultural Enterprise Management was developed as part of the Southern Alberta Agriculture and Agribusiness Program, made possible by a transformational $5 million gift from Cor Van Raay to Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge in 2014. Students will be able to earn an AEM diploma from Lethbridge College and have the option to continue into a Bachelor of Management degree program with an AEM major at the University of Lethbridge, once that program has been approved.
“This new programming does more than just fill a gap identified by the agri-food industry in southern Alberta,” says David Hill, director of development for the programming between Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge. “By focusing on the business and management side of a rapidly-changing global agri-food industry, students in the program will be prepared to be business leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs. The programming will ensure that students in southern Alberta have the globally-relevant skillsets required to significantly increase the value to the primary production economy through advanced approaches to agri-business, agri-tech, agri-finance and agri-trade. It is an exciting time to be engaged in agriculture and food.”
The program differs from the college’s long-running Agriculture Sciences program by focusing on the business and management decision-making aspects of the agri-food sector, from primary production through the food supply chain, to the consumer. Students will have the opportunity to earn a highly-employable credential that prepares them for a wide range of agri-food careers, including in agricultural production, commodity marketing, risk management, value-added and sustainable agriculture, distribution and finance.
Mandy Gabruch has been hired as the first AEM instructor. Gabruch grew up fixing fences and checking cows on her family’s ranch near Consul, Sask., before attaining a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Saskatchewan. She will draw upon a knowledge base that includes experience in hands-on production, research and economic analysis.
“Given my background, I appreciate the need to see how theory applies in the real world, so I have been working hard to create classes that do just that,” says Gabruch. “In the first year of the program, students will take a variety of general business, agricultural production, economics and management classes, and then we will build on this knowledge foundation to develop a deeper understanding of the issues faced by agribusinesses in western Canada. Students will come away from this program with technical skills, as well as the capacity to apply higher-level thinking to how current issues in policy and trade will affect their businesses and industry. The goal of this program is to foster the ability for students to see the relationship between ever-changing global dynamics and the bottom line for agricultural enterprises.”
Through its highly-adaptable and collaborative learning environment and its future-focused training and research programs, Lethbridge College’s Collaborative Centre of Excellence in Agriculture is fast becoming a hub for agricultural research and innovation. The college is a proven player in the industry, with faculty, staff and partners who are resourceful, understand farming, embrace innovation, focus on our vision and lead the way with data-driven agriculture.
Applications for Agricultural Enterprise Management are now being accepted for fall 2018. More information about the new program can be found at lethpolytech.ca/aem.