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Just as growth factors determine outcomes in farming, success in the agri-food space depends on a number of conditions, and the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) takes a leadership role in addressing both long-standing and emerging challenges.
Current priorities include educating the next generation of leaders, advancing economic and environmental sustainability, and providing insights on technology and policy, areas where OAC – which celebrates its 150th anniversary on May 1, 2024 – already has an impressive track record, says John Cranfield, acting dean of OAC.
“These 150 years really speak to our impact – and the role we play in civil society,” he explains. “Beyond providing the sector with a pipeline of skilled talent, we provide our partners with research and development opportunities. We also enhance the sustainability and resilience of the sector by advancing technology, practices and policy.”
Talent and technology
Job vacancies in agriculture increased 15 per cent since 2022, according to a recent Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council study, which projects that by 2030, there will be more than 100,000 vacant jobs to fill in the industry.
“Throughout the agri-food system, there’s a desperate need for people with a variety of skill sets, and this labour gap has widened significantly,” says Dr. Cranfield. “This means that both educational institutions and industry have to work together to grow the talent pipeline.”
He believes the fact that “this is a dynamic and increasingly high-tech sector” presents both a challenge, due to the need for skilled personnel, and an opportunity, since young Canadians are drawn to fields with strong technology components.
“Agriculture is a STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] field, and this matters when we talk to high school students about opportunities,” says Dr. Cranfield. “Especially in urban areas, many come with outdated notions of what agriculture looks like.”
Technology adoption in agriculture can include the use of sensors, drones and imaging – paired with machine learning and data analytics – as well as sophisticated solutions for plant breeding, crop rotation, soil health, precision agriculture, automation and more.
“Technology is changing how we operate in interesting ways,” he says. “The image of the red barn and a cow doesn’t fit with a modern operation. Yet while most of our country’s farms have grown larger, the vast majority are family-run businesses.”
Sustainability and resilience
While Canadian food producers have adopted sustainability practices for decades, “there is room to do more,” says Dr. Cranfield. “This is coming increasingly to the forefront as we see the impacts of climate change, for example, in extreme weather events and changing growing conditions.
“However, we’ve also learned more – and created proof points – about how sustainable agricultural practices can be part of a climate solution,” he explains, citing the example of soil science researchers who examine production methods that promote capturing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and sequestering them in the soil. These efforts focus on advanced monitoring and analysis to provide insights on soil health.
Key to the university’s success in this area, Dr. Cranfield says, are the partnerships researchers forge with government, producer organizations and individuals to improve outcomes. These partnerships help turn ideas into action to enable farmers to adopt new production practices, substitute different production methods or adopt new crop rotations.
“This can lead to diversification and boost financial stability while, at the same time, help to improve the soil, which has a positive effect on the environment and the planet,” says Dr. Cranfield, who suggests looking at sustainability through three lenses: people, profit and planet.
“Sustainability at the farm level is fundamentally about ensuring these family-run enterprises can survive and thrive as businesses in ways that are beneficial to the environment,” he says. “We try to understand where there’s an important need for new practices, technologies, approaches or policy that can improve sustainability for people, profit and the planet.”
The Ontario Agricultural College is looking to grow the talent pipeline to meet the need for skilled workers within the agri-food sector.SUPPLIED
Innovation and policy development
As a research-intensive organization, OAC is dedicated to “developing tools, practices and strategies, and providing insights through research of whether these measures have the desired impact, for example, on farm yields, commodity markets or sustainability,” says Dr. Cranfield.
Whether it’s a startup developing a new way to monitor environmental conditions in a barn or testing crops in greenhouse or field environments, “we’ve got the facilities, infrastructure and talent to test and develop technologies and practices,” he notes. “And this goes beyond discoveries about plants, animals and soil to also provide policy analysis.”
For impact on the regulatory landscape, OAC’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics and the School of Environmental Design and Development, for example, bring together social scientists and other experts to help shape policies related to agriculture and food at regional, provincial and national levels, says Dr. Cranfield. “We aim to inform the public discourse on issues faced by various levels of government, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, because we all play important roles in the agri-food system.”
Dr. Cranfield and his colleagues also want to raise awareness in consumers. “Many Canadians are no longer familiar with the reality of agriculture and the complex challenges farmers face,” he says. “People who may be frustrated over food price inflation need to know that food producers are getting paid less for their commodities while costs of their inputs continue to rise.”
Feedback and education
Research and development at OAC are “driven by real-world problems, which are brought to our attention by organizations or individuals,” says Dr. Cranfield. “The long list of our research centres, working groups and initiatives is a testament to the importance of relationships between the research community, industry, government and non-governmental organizations.”
When research leads to discovery and the development of solutions, their implementation can create further questions, with a resulting feedback loop that contributes to “a strong community, where we help and support each other,” and Dr. Cranfield believes this also enriches up-to-date and hands-on learning opportunities that get graduates job-ready from day one.
“Experiential learning is critical to what we do,” he says. “From start to finish, our students have opportunities to apply what they learned in the classroom through hands-on activities, summer jobs and co-op experiences to ensure they have the skills to make a difference in the world.”
Another strength of OAC lies in “the great diversity of people – including students, staff, faculty, alumni and partners – who bring different perspectives to the challenges faced in the agri-food space,” Dr. Cranfield notes. “Agriculture and food production are part of the environment and society, so we bring together agricultural economists, crop and animal scientists, food scientists, landscape architects, rural development and extension experts, environmental scientists and more to ensure we do the right things.”
In agriculture, growth potential is determined by the most limiting factor, and for Dr. Cranfield, “the biggest challenge is access to talent – and the big opportunity is integrating sustainability and technology into agriculture practices to improve outcomes at the farm level and for society overall.”
That’s why the University of Guelph is educating “the next generation of doers and thought leaders,” he adds.
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