The provincial government is helping the next generation of dairy farmers in Guelph.
The Dairy Farmers of Ontario and the University of Guelph announced on Wednesday that they’re teaming up to enhance the school’s apprenticeship program to get more students interested in a career as a herdsperson.
According to a news release, $300,000 of government funding is being given to the Ridgetown Campus, which will be put towards the Dairy Herdsperson Apprenticeship program.
“Our government is proud to invest in a homegrown training program to help jobseekers get the skills they need to provide quality food to the people of Ontario for generations to come,” Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton said.
There will be close to 500 hours of training completed in the classroom, where students will learn about animal health, and they will hear from industry experts on milking, feeding, reproduction and other dairy-related skills.
As part of the program, students will also complete more than 5,000 hours of on-farm training through a paid work placement.
They will learn how to operate and maintain farm machinery, working directly with animals and processing milk.
A hybrid distance education option is being added to expand the program, helping out students who are unable to study in person full-time or who already work on farms across Ontario.
The virtual program will be available in 2024.