Agri-Food Sector Career Videos

• Farming Video: Learn more about a career in farming and food production from Rob Alexander, a Durham Region apple farmer at Nature’s Bounty Farm. Find out what personality traits are compatible with this career, why it is a meaningful job and more.
  

• Farm Finance and Lending Video: Learn more about a career in farm finance and lending from Allison Nesbit with Farm Credit Canada. Allison discusses what attracts people to work in this career, the job responsibilities and personality traits best suited for the role, how farm finance fits into the bigger picture of the agriculture industry and more.

• Agriculture Post-Secondary Careers Video: Learn more about agriculture post-secondary programing in Durham Region from Shane Jones, Coordinator for Horticulture Technician and Food and Farming Programs with Durham College. Shane discusses agricultural programming opportunities available and the type of content covered in the different programs. Skills learned at the college translate to numerous career options in the agriculture industry post graduation.

• Crop Agronomy Video: Learn more about a career in crop agronomy and sales from agronomist, Aaron Bowman. There are many aspects to being a crop advisor. Aaron discusses the tasks involved in the job, the different career pathways within plant agriculture, and how crop advisors are involved in helping farmers grow successful crops each year, and more.

• Agriculture Equipment Technician Videos with Nathan and Kaylah: Learn more about a career in agriculture equipment mechanics form Evergreen Farm and Garden Technicians’ Nathan Harris and Kaylah Ayow. They outline the work they do, the responsibilities of the job and why their work is rewarding and important to the industry.
  

• Animal Nutrition Video: Learn more about a career in animal nutrition from the Sunderland Co-operative’s dairy cattle feed salesman, Patrick Baird. Patrick discusses how to get started in this career, the tasks involved in the job, what he enjoys most about his work and more.
  

• Precision Agriculture and Agri-Tech: Learn more about a career in precision agriculture, agri-technology and robotics from Sougata Pahari with Korechi Innovations and Chuck Baresich with Haggerty Creek Inc. A career in precision agriculture can have many components like soil nutrient management, product development, real-time crop imaging and analytics, and more. Sougata and Chuck also share tips on working in this industry.

Check out these job boards as a start to finding a career in agriculture.

• Ag Careers
• Ag Recruiting
  
• Agri-food Innovation Council
• Careers in Food
  
• Community Employment Services

Reaching out to agriculture businesses near you for a co-op placement or a job is also a great starting point.

There are many options for individuals to become trained and ready to enter a career in agriculture. While there are lots of entry level jobs available in the agriculture sector, there are equally as many skilled jobs waiting to be filled. Training can range from a high school Specialist High Skills Major certification to a four-year post-secondary degree program. More information on training options available are listed below.

Skills Training

• Agriculture Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM): Specialist high skills major training for agriculture, completed while at high school for special credit and certification, is received upon high school graduation. Visit the Ministry of Education’s website and contact your school’s guidance office for more information.

• Feeding Your Future: Agri-food career training, agriculture career fairs and job opportunities can be found on the Feeding Your Future website.

Post-secondary training and certifications in Agriculture

• Durham College offers many programs that directly relate to agriculture, whether it’s the full-time Horticulture Food and Farming program, or the part-time certificate programs in administration and accounting. Many skills training opportunities offered at Durham college can easily translate into a career in agriculture.
• The Ontario Agriculture College is a globally recognized college offering a variety of programing in agriculture through degree and diploma programs ranging from animal science, food science, agriculture business to turf grass management, to name a few.
• Trent University Durham GTA offers a variety of programs that support a strong career in agriculture. One specific program to note is the small-scale farming, sustainable agriculture and food systems program. 

Food is essential for all of us, making it a stable and promising career path for students to study and enter.

Did you know: One in eight jobs in Canada are in the agriculture and food industry.

Below is a list of resources available to teachers to support discussions and learning about agriculture career paths. Resources include free lesson plans, activities and worksheets that are geared to the curriculum.

• Ag Scape is a free resource and lesson kit for teachers to use to educate students about agriculture careers. Resources are interactive and designed to match with grade curriculum, including the careers and civics class.
• AgScape’s Growing Careers YouTube channel provides an introduction to careers found within the agri-food sector. It includes 75 career profile videos. From communications, engineering and economics, to food and animal sciences. The possibilities are endless when it comes to careers in the agriculture sector.
• Agriculture in the Classroom provides teachers with access to hundreds of free lesson plans, educational activities and worksheets for students designed for in-person and virtual learning that align with the curriculum in all subjects and for all grade levels.
• National Agriculture in the Classroom provides teachers with access to free lesson plans that align with the curriculum for all grade levels. Lesson plans and worksheets can be downloaded.

Livestock Farming

• Beef Farming
  
• Chicken Farming
  
• Dairy Farming
  
• Egg Farming
  
• Goat Farming
  
• Pig Farming
  
• Sheep Farming
  
• Turkey Farming
  

Grain Farming

• Grain Farming
  

Fruit Farming

• Apple Farming
  
• Berry Farming
  
• Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers
  

Vegetable Farming

• Greenhouse Vegetable Farming
  
• Horticulture
  
• Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers
  

 
General Farm Organizations

• Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario
  
• Junior Farmers Association
  
• Ontario Federation of Agriculture
  
• Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association
  
• National Farmers Union
  
• 4-H Ontario
  

• Agri-business, Farm Credit Canada
  
• Ontario Agri-business Association
  
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Business
  

• Farm Credit Canada
  
• Canadian Bankers Association, Farm Banking
  

• Certified Crop Advisors
  
• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Crops
  

• John Deere Careers
  
• Durham John Deere Dealer, Evergreen Farm and Garden
  
• CNH Industrial Careers
  
  • Bob Mark New Holland Dealer
    
  • Hub International Case IH Dealer
    
• Kubota Careers
  
  • Ross Doble Kubota Dealer
    
  • Durham Kubota Dealer
    

• Sunderland Co-operative Inc.
  
• Sunderland Feed and Supply (Masterfeeds)
  
• Port Perry Feeds
  
• Wright’s Feeds ‘N Needs
  
• Durham Farmers’ County Co-op
  

• Korechi Innovations
  
• Information on Precision Agriculture in Field Crops (PDF)