Assiniboine School of Agriculture and Environment adds two new Ag Extension programs

New agriculture extension programs at Assiniboine—Pesticide Certification and Drone Flight School—are bringing training opportunities to industry.

• With 40-hours of online training followed by a two-day flight school, the Drone Flight School program runs from March 15 to May 31, and will prepare students for their special Flight Operations Certificate.

• Those who apply pesticide professionally in Manitoba must be certified and licensed in the province. The Pesticide Certification program prepares students for this certification exam. Assiniboine is the only institution in Manitoba to offer this preparatory course, with a monthly intake for the online program.

“Assiniboine is a leader in providing quality agriculture programming and one of the main goals of the college is developing focused training opportunities that meet industry needs. Agriculture is constantly changing and responsive training for those already working in the industry is critical to staying current with new technologies and agronomy,” said Tim Hore, Dean, School of Agriculture and Environment at Assiniboine.

“Both of these programs are a prime example of how Assiniboine is working with industry to identify needs and answering that call. These are opportunities to build skills that are necessary to keep up with the advancements in agriculture.”

Agriculture extension is an integral piece of Assiniboine’s vision for agriculture training and micro-credentials to be offered through the Prairie Innovation Centre. This one-of-a-kind Canadian college project will bring together collaborative learning spaces, applied research labs and multipurpose spaces that will enhance the college’s ability to work with industry partners to expand extension programming and address emerging situations and issues.

“The Centre will be recognized as a go-to problem solver for ag-related practical challenges and provide a space for industry and academia to seize new training opportunities,” said Hore. “We look forward to extending and transferring knowledge to enhance the competitiveness of the industry and primary agriculture producers in Manitoba.”

For more information about Drone Flight School, Pesticide Certification or other ag extension opportunities, visit assiniboine.net/agextension.