AITC News

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, is thrilled to announce that the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame has chosen its Executive Director, Johanne Ross, as a 2021 inductee.

Johanne has been a champion for agriculture education for more than 20 years – first as the Executive Director of AITC in Manitoba, and then by leading the development of the national organization which formalized in 2015. Johanne has tirelessly dedicated her career to advocating for agriculture education to be present in all classrooms, bridging the information gap and creating meaningful connections to agriculture and food for Canadian students and educators.

"The Board of Directors and provincial colleagues congratulate Johanne! She leads AITC Canada with enthusiasm and passion, encourages collaboration, and maintains connections with farmers and people experienced in agriculture," said Pat Tonn, Chair. "She has built a lasting legacy for agriculture education in Canada and is most deserving of induction to the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame."

Read the full announcement here: http://ow.ly/34pW50FukpU

Read CAHF announcement here: http://ow.ly/GrpM50FuksA

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, has connected two million students to agriculture education experiences with Canada’s agriculture and food story, as reported in AITC-C’s 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report. With the COVID-19 shift, AITC-C continued to deliver programming virtually – allowing for a wider reach to more remote communities and schools. 

Through the strong presence of AITC-C's 10 provincial members from across Canada and its online Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix, AITC-C strives to address the knowledge gap that exists around our food system. Collectively, we provided accurate, balanced, and current agriculture information and resources to Canadian classrooms. 

"We are thrilled that so many curious students are participating in AITC-C's innovative learning opportunities,” said Johanne Ross, Executive Director of AITC-C. “Our reach continues to grow as we adapt to the changing tides in educational delivery and focus on creating student experiences and meaningful connections to agriculture and food.” 

View more information on AITC-C's 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report website: aitc-celebrates.ca.

The G3 Grow Beyond Scholarship is being awarded again this year to 6 remarkable young people.

The winners were chosen after a weeks-long selection process from a field of more than 50 candidates who applied and told us in a video presentation how they would drive innovation in agriculture. Each winner will receive $4,000 as they embark on their post-secondary education; each of their high schools will also be rewarded $1,000. The scholarship is presented in partnership with Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C).

We are proud to announce the 2021 G3 Grow Beyond Scholarship winners:

• Ebunoluwa Makinde (MB)
• Jessica Davey (SK)
• Kacey Code (SK)
• Rachel Zhu (ON)
• Stefan Schaible Schur (MB)
• Zoee Aussant (SK)

All the candidates’ videos were posted online, and public voting formed part of the overall score in the selection process. The public response again this year was incredible. The g3growbeyond.org website saw more than 63,000 unique visits. Videos were played more than 17,000 times and more than 16,000 votes cast.

Read the media release here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada is excited to add 12 new snapAG information sheets to its Learn About Agriculture webpage and Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix. These new, infographic resources cover ‘hot topics’ in the agriculture and food sector, including regenerative agriculture, robotics, food security, urban agriculture, and more!

The addition of these 12 snapAG sheets brings the total number of sheets to 73 information sheets, providing accurate, balanced, and current science-​based answers to various questions about agriculture and food - ready for teachers, students, and learning from home.

The new 12 snapAG sheets will be housed on our newly redesigned snapAG portal, available here. AITC-C also plans to release three sheets focusing on Indigenous Agriculture in the next few months.

Explore our snapAG sheets.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its ten provincial member organizations, is excited to announce the launch of thinkAG.ca, a new website aimed at getting middle years to high school students curious about careers in Canada’s agriculture and food sector.

The interactive website takes students on a journey to discover how their interests match up with careers in agriculture and food, showcased by over 70 career profiles highlighting the many diverse jobs that exist along the agricultural value chain. Students will also have access to information about post-secondary options and scholarship opportunities.

“This is the first website of its kind in Canada – guiding students to uncover how their futures can fit into the agriculture industry,” said Shayla Hertz, AITC-C’s thinkAG Manager. “We need to help students see themselves, and how their skills fit, in agriculture and food. We want them to know that people who have not grown up on a farm or with an ag background are often the most valuable additions to agriculture because they question the status quo. New and fresh perspectives are needed in an industry that’s forever growing in complexity and vital to feeding our world.”

Right now, in Canada, there are more jobs in agriculture than there are people to fill them. This website is a revolutionary way to encourage students to recognize how their interests and skills fit into the agriculture sector – rather than the other way around - and promotes finding meaningful careers in Canadian agriculture and food.

Read the full media release here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its ten provincial members, is proud to welcome the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation (CCF) as a Foundational and Educational Partner. The collaboration will support the development of agriculture education resources including a teacher guide for Guardians of the Grasslands, a documentary that explores the current state of one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems, the Great Plains grasslands, and the role cattle play in its survival.

Both AITC-C and CCF are committed to youth education and fostering awareness and understanding of Canadian’s agriculture and food system with students. The $50,000 contribution to AITC-C is the first-of-its-kind since the inception of CCF in 2014.

Read the full media release here.

 Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its ten provincial member organizations, is proud to announce the national expansion of The Business of Food (BOF), thanks to a $450,000 multi-year partnership from Bayer Crop Science Canada. This new partnership will also leverage matching funding from the recently announced Canadian Agriculture Partnership program through Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.

Developed by AgScape, the Ontario member to AITC-C, the Business of Food is a comprehensive e-learning platform aimed at bringing knowledge about food and agriculture to education professionals.

“Our connection with food from an early age is vital and education drives that connection,” said Trish Jordan, Senior Business Partner, Government & Industry Affairs with Bayer. “Building good food habits and developing a positive relationship with Canada’s food system needs to be taught to students in an engaging way, and we know AITC has the right programs to make this happen.” 

Read the full media release here.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced Agriculture in the Classroom Canada has been approved for up to $1.6 million over two years under the AgriCompetitiveness Program. The announcement marked the launch of one of AITC-C's flagship initiatives, Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM), which is now in its tenth year.

The funding will further the expansion of many of our programs including Snap AG and Little Green Thumbs while allowing us to advance our Business of Food Training Program nationally. The funding will also provide opportunities to further develop our online offerings of our Learning Management System and Canadian Educator Resource Matrix.

Read more here

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its ten provincial member organizations, is excited to announce its 10^th annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM).

Each year, CALM encourages thousands of Canadian students from K to 12 to celebrate Canada’s agriculture and food story. CALM is a hands-on program designed to be integrated into classrooms in the month of March. Educating students about the significant affect the agriculture and food sector has on our daily lives as Canadians is what makes CALM so impactful.

“This year marks an important milestone for the invaluable work done by AITC,” said the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “I wholeheartedly support their mission to engage our youth in the great story our farmers have to tell about how our food is made. Hopefully, more Canadians will see the exciting and fulfilling career opportunities in the agriculture sector. Agriculture in the Classroom is helping to close the gap between urban and rural, which is more important than ever, and our Government will continue to support them in this vital work.”

Read the full media release here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C) is proud to announce the foundational funding support and partnership with Canada East Equipment Dealers’ Association (CEEDA). Together, we will work to deliver educational resources that are inclusive of the contribution equipment and technical services plays in the agricultural sector.

Through our thinkAG career initiative, our combined messaging will reach youth audiences nationally and build awareness of agriculture career opportunities beyond the farm with real-life stories from professionals in the equipment industry. With an expected abundance of open positions in the coming years within this sector, this partnership will help fill bring up curiosity with individuals who are eager to learn from experienced professionals in the equipment industry.

Read the full media release here