10 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | January 2024 Beyond the Barn OLDS COLLEGE OFFERS INDOOR AG CERTIFICATE A postsecondary school in Alberta has launched a new program for ag students. Beginning in the fall of 2024, Olds College will offer a four-month Indoor Agriculture Certificate program to meet industry demands for skilled people to work in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector. The first cohort will consist of 30 students. “Our students will acquire essential skills in plant production techniques, modern technologies, and business practices that are crucial for success in this field,” Debbie Thompson, vice-president of Academic for Olds College, said in a recent statement. Examples of CEA include greenhouses, vertical farming and hydroponics. Students will be required to complete five individual courses to earn their certificate. In the Principles of Crop Production in Controlled Environments course, for example, “students explore the relationship between plants, their physiology, and growing requirements within controlled environments,” according to the course description. Other courses include Business and Economics of Controlled Environment Agriculture, Fundamentals of Controlled Environment Agriculture, Controlled Environment Agriculture Systems & Components, and Operating Controlled Environment Systems. A field placement of at least 200 hours is optional. The number of greenhouse vegetable operations in Canada is on the rise. In 2021, Canada had 892 greenhouse vegetable operations. And the harvested area increased to more than 19 million square metres. Applications for the certificate program opened in October 2023 for a September 2024 start date. BF - Diego Flammini A recent release from Statistics Canada detailed farm cash receipts from the first three quarters of 2023. From January to September, Canadian farms totalled $72.5 billion in farm cash receipts, which is a 7.9 per cent increase from the same period in 2022. Crop receipts increased $4.5 billion from the first three quarters of 2022 to the first three quarters of 2023 to a total of $41.4 billion. StatCan attributes this to a gain in markets, although prices were down in the 2023 period. The largest increases in crop receipts were observed in canola, wheat, and durum wheat, contributing to more than 75 per cent of the growth in this category. These crops had higher marketings in 2023 following the drought in Western Canada in 2021 and a return to normal production levels in 2022. Growth in crop receipts occurred despite price drops of 15.5 per cent for canola, 8.9 per cent for wheat and 17.9 per cent for durum wheat. Livestock receipts increased $2.2 billion in this period, to a total of $27.2 billion, due to an increase in prices in the 2023 period. This was an 8.9 per cent increase relative to the 2022 period. Increased cattle receipts contributed to more than 80 per cent of the growth in livestock receipts, climbing by $1.8 billion to a total of $9.8 billion. This was related to strong demand for cattle in Canadian and U.S. markets, as well as rising input costs. Supply-managed receipts increased by 7.2 per cent to a total of $11.2 billion. All provinces reported increases in farm cash reciepts throughout the first three quarters of 2023. Saskatchewan led these increases, rising $2.3 billion to a total of $16.5 billion. This growth accounts for 40 per cent of the national growth. BF FARM RECEIPTS STILL UP AFTER Q3 jimfeng/E+ photo
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