Lakeland College develops first Bachelor of Agriculture Technology Degree

Lakeland College is offering Canada’s first degree in agriculture technology. Developed to enable students to keep ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving world of agricultural technology, Lakeland’s bachelor of agriculture technology program offers real-world experience with the latest agricultural equipment, software, hardware and digital devices.

Bachelor of agriculture technology students will complete their on-campus training in Lakeland’s new Agriculture Technology Centre.

tarting in September 2021, the two-year, post-credential program consists of full-time studies at the Vermilion campus and experiential learning practicums off campus, all designed to bridge the gap between emerging technologies and agricultural management and production systems. “Our new degree program will produce graduates who can effectively use emerging technologies and the data they produce in commercial agriculture to provide important answers on return on investment,” says Michael Crowe, Lakeland’s vice president of academic and research. Students will delve into crop and livestock farming and smart agriculture as a management system, including data collection and analysis as well as the use of interpretative tools and programs such as robotics, geospatial tools, artificial intelligence and others. They’ll also learn how to analyze and troubleshoot industry-leading hardware, software and data platforms. Students will operate and adapt the technology and data systems on Lakeland’s Student-Managed Farm – Powered by New Holland. “Graduates of the program will bring unique skill sets into the workforce by blending both agriculture production and agricultural technology expertise. Industry feedback indicated there is a shortage of agricultural professionals who can interface between the two disciplines – our degree program will fill that gap,” says Josie Van Lent, dean of the School of Agriculture Technology and Applied Research. “We greatly appreciate the support and help from industry in the development of this program.”