Agricultural College in Ontario Switching to All Organic Training for Students

Posted 6/1/05

From: The Ottawa Sun <http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/OttawaSun/News/2005/05/29/1061267-sun.html

College goes organic

By TOM VAN DUSEN, Ottawa Sun

ALFRED -- Ontario's only French-language agricultural college may finally have been granted its educational raison d'etre.

For most of its 24-years, Alfred College has relied on the language difference for validation. Now innovative programming is about to carve it a distinctive niche in the province and beyond.

Under the guidance of its managing authority, Guelph University, Alfred is in the process of becoming the first agricultural education centre in North America devoted to organic research.

It's part of the small college's determination to offer courses relevant to a cross-section of society, says Alfred director Gilbert Heroux.

"We want to establish the college as an important player in preparing tomorrow's specialists, be it in organic agriculture, environmental management or food safety," Heroux said.

The director emphasized programs are being added without a reduction in emphasis on conventional farming, which remains a mainstay in the region.

The job of transferring Alfred's 40 head of Holsteins and its 250 acres of feed crops from conventional to organic management has gone to Charles Goubau, an Alfred staffer since the college's creation.

Goubau will be assisted by barn manager Louis Brunet, a retired conventional farmer. Francois Labelle, an organic producer, is in charge of acquiring certification, while Dr. Simon Lachance will oversee research projects.

An advisory committee composed of Alfred staff, Kemptville College reps, the production sector and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food is helping with the transition. On the financial side, some $40,000 from OMAF and about $74,500 from federal agency FedNor is facilitating the shift.

"I love a challenge," Goubau said.

The implementation date for the change is September, although the full transition will take about two years.

INCREASING DEMAND

"There are a few centres in Europe specializing in organic ... but not yet in Canada or the U.S.," said Goubau.

Organic milk isn't about the cows themselves, it's about the feed and medication that go into them. Right now, subjects are Holsteins but other breeds could eventually be added, Goubau said.

A conventional farmer on his own time, Goubau expects to learn new practices to apply to his operation.

He noted the increasing demand for organic food products in Ontario makes the shift a timely one: "Right now, Ontario has to bring in organic milk from Quebec to meet the demand."

Echoing Heroux, Goubau and Brunet said it's important for students to realize they'll still get traditional schooling in agriculture from the college since many of the management techniques used in both the organic and conventional streams overlap.

"For example, all farmers are already trying to use less antibiotics," Goubau said. "So, antibiotic-free treatment isn't a huge stretch for the conventional types." vandusen@cyberus.ca