Agriculture Course Expands

More Nova Scotia high school students will have an opportunity to learn the ABCs of agriculture this fall.

Three schools have signed on to offer the new agriculture/agri- foods course that was piloted in four schools last year. The course is offered in Grade 11 and teaches students the importance of agriculture to Nova Scotia's economy and the career options it offers.

"Education is key to building an even stronger agriculture industry in Nova Scotia," said Ernest Fage, Minister of Agriculture and Marketing.

"Showing students what agriculture means to the economy and what exciting, diverse careers are available is extremely important. I want to commend the three schools that have made the decision to bring this important industry into the classroom."

The three schools are East Pictou Rural High School, Dalbrae Academy in Mabou and Riverview High School in Sydney. They join the four pilot schools, that will continue to offer the course: Cornwallis District High School, West Pictou District High School, Oxford Regional High School and Middleton Regional High School.

An agricultural course will also continue to be offered at the Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School in Antigonish, which has offered agricultural studies for several years.

To support teachers who will be teaching the course, the Nova Scotia Agriculture Awareness Committee, the departments of Agriculture and Marketing and Education, and the Nova Scotia Agricultural College are holding a two-day teacher's workshop August 24th and 25th in Truro. Ten teachers have signed up to hit the books in preparation for teaching the new course.

"We wanted to provide teachers with the opportunity to learn as much as possible about agriculture through hands-on labs and activities they can do in their classrooms," said Ruth Grant, agricultural awareness co-ordinator with the Department of Agriculture and Marketing.

"There is an enormous amount of science and business sense that goes into being successful in agriculture and we want to pass that onto the teachers. We are very pleased the teachers have taken some of their summer vacation to attend this workshop it definitely shows their commitment to the course and their students."

During the workshop, teachers will learn about various agriculture related topics and issues from some of the most respected leaders in the agricultural community. Sessions will cover such topics as biotechnology, food safety and e-coli, planting processes and herd health.

The Nova Scotia Agriculture Awareness Committee is an industry/government partnership that works to increase Nova Scotian's understanding and awareness of agriculture.

Agriculture contributes $1 billion a year to the provincial economy and directly and indirectly supports 16,000 jobs for Nova Scotians.