Next generation of farmers gets growing in Georgian’s new Business – Agriculture program

Tori Spence grew up feeding cows and mucking their stalls on her family’s dairy and beef farms in Oro-Medonte.

Now, she’s sowing the seeds of a future farming career – taking over the family business – through Georgian College’s new Business – Agriculture program, which combines the business and science of agriculture to prepare the next generation as innovators in efficiency, profitability and sustainability in the agriculture industry.

“I’m very comfortable with animals – cows mostly – but I want to learn more about crops and the business side of agriculture,” says Tori, who’s also an alumna of Georgian’s Veterinarian Technician program (class of 2016). “This program’s going to teach me everything I don’t know. My dad didn’t get an education in agriculture – he just worked after his dad started the farm. I definitely need a better idea of how farming works and to make some connections.”

Students in the Business – Agriculture program explore everything from high-tech farming and eco-friendly practices to financial planning and marketing strategies. They gain practical skills through outdoor work, labs and paid co-op placements while working directly with farmers and agribusiness professionals.

A person stands in a fruit and vegetable market next to a large box of apples. — *Tori, a student in Georgian’s Business – Agriculture program, wants to take over her parents’ dairy farm.*

Since the program launched in fall 2024, Tori has joined her classmates on various field trips to different farming facilities in the Barrie area to learn about their operations.

Business – Agriculture students travel from Canada to Guatemala

As well, nine students and two faculty members from the Business – Agriculture program recently travelled to Vuelta Grande, Guatemala to establish a sustainable community garden at a local school.

A group of people stand outside around two gardens built into elevated wooden boxes. — *Georgian faculty and students from the Business – Agriculture program travelled to Guatemala to build a sustainable community garden.*

A close-up of a garden in a wooden box. A plaque explains in Spanish that Georgian College established the garden through a volunteer program. — *School children decorated the garden and received a guide on how to care for it.*

The experience, supported by Georgian, Global Skills Opportunity and the FUNCOLI Foundation, saw students working alongside community advisors to integrate native agriculture practices into the design. At the same time the school children decorated the garden and received a guide on how to care for it.

“It was a profoundly eye-opening experience for them,” says Paul Tarsitano, Business – Agriculture Program Coordinator. “Students developed a deeper understanding of community needs and the importance of teamwork and empathy. They also gained practical skills in agriculture and gardening, along with an appreciation for different cultures and resilience in the face of hardship.”

The journey is one example of how classroom learning in the program is bridged with global agricultural needs, specifically relating to sustainable practices, entrepreneurial and business skills, food security, and experiential education, he adds.

A group of people stand outside in front of grain elevators. Sign on a building reads: Kell Farms Ltd. — *Business – Agriculture students and faculty visit Kell Farms south of Barrie.*

A group of people kneel in a row in front of a sign reading: Barrie Hill Farms. — *Students and faculty visit Barrie Hill Farms just west of Barrie.*

Business – Agriculture students get hands-on experiences at local farms

Closer to home, students travelled to Kell Farms in Innisfil and Barrie Hill Farms in Springwater for tours on how their operations are run.

Steve Kell, owner of Kell Farms, a pig and grains farm, toured the Business – Agriculture students around grain elevators, other facilities and fields.

A group of people stand in a massive warehouse with agriculture machinery parked inside. — *Steve gives Georgian students a tour of The Big Shed, a 30-by-60-metre facility that can store 4,000 tons of corn.*

“Agriculture is a great career choice. It offers an opportunity to use knowledge you’ve gained through your life with technology to implement it in the field and work in beautiful sunny weather,” he says, adding it’s “fantastic” Georgian offers this program and hopes it will boost a decreasing agricultural workforce.

“Agriculture has struggled to attract new labour. It’s been one of those industries that for whatever reason has been overlooked by youth, and it’s created this labour gap. We’ve got farm workers who are nearing retirement and no one underneath them to fill that void. This program is vital to bring on that next group of workers so we can continue to feed the world.”

‘A lot of people don’t realize that agriculture is a business’

At Barrie Hill Farms, second-generation owner Morris Gervais toured Business – Agriculture students around some of its apple orchards.

A person stands outside in an apple orchard in front of a group of people. — *Morris tells students about the property’s history and changes over the years.*

“A lot of people don’t realize that agriculture is a business. You look at all these beautiful apple orchards and the nature, but you have to be profitable. This whole place doesn’t run on fresh air and lollipops. It costs labour, it costs fuel, it costs all kinds of stuff,” he says.

He shared with the students some of the strategic and financial planning that goes into growing apple orchards in today’s agricultural economy. For example, Barrie Hill Farms plants a lot more trees – smaller ones – than previously to produce more apples sooner and get a quicker return on investment.

The old orchard model, he explained, meant growing large apple trees for seven years before they started producing so they were strong enough to hold 20 or 30 bushels of apples. Today, smaller trees each grow one bushel, but they produce sooner and are held up in bad weather by wires and trellises.

“What does a farmer do? I fight Mother Nature,” Morris jokes. “I work with her when I can and then fight her. She’s kind of a fickle business partner.”

Learn more about Georgian’s Business – Agriculture program

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