Horticulture – Food and Farming

Program Overview

Guided by a field-to-fork philosophy, this program prepares students to be leaders in the rapidly evolving food sector. Working in a one-of-a-kind environment, you will learn to create the wholesome, locally produced, farm-fresh food in demand by today’s consumers, and how you can contribute solutions to communities looking to feed cities in creative and sustainable ways. In addition, you will experience how agri-tourism brings urban residents to farming and will have an enhanced awareness of local food production.

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)

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Tuition

Year one domestic: $2,722 (CAD)
Year one international: $13,322 (CAD)

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Semester 1 Courses

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Farming

Food Processing and Preservation

Field-to-Fork

Technology recommendations

To help students succeed in programs with remote learning requirements, Durham College’s IT Services department has identified minimum technology recommendations. While these are not program requirements, these suggestions will help ensure students have the right tools to support a quality remote learning experience.

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Intakes and Availability

Date	Domestic Availability	International Availability
September 2021	Open	Open

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Coordinator of environmental and community projects with municipalities
Farm manager or production assistant on vegetable or fruit farms
Manager or coordinator of roof-top and community gardens
Manager or production assistant for crop production in greenhouses
Owner/operator of your own food production farm
Quality control technician
Product development technician

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Program Details

With more than 50 hours of your time spent in the labs and fields of the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (WC), you will gain a unique hands-on opportunity to become familiar with the concepts that are critical to the food and agricultural industry, all within the context of a field-to-fork philosophy. You will learn in our fields, greenhouses, hoop house and state-of-the-art food chemistry and processing labs, while planning for, planting, tending to and harvesting more than 50 different varieties of produce, berry bushes, herbs and more.

Through the development of your own value-added food products, you will have a greater knowledge and understanding of the opportunities that come with food production. Whether you are interested in a career with a food company, managing a food operation, developing your own food product or owning a greenhouse or production farm, you will gain critical skills in modern farming concepts, food processing and food preservation to position you as an industry leader.

The Food and Farming program will offer you a hands-on opportunity to become familiar with the concepts of food production.

You will focus on:

Plant propagation
Soil and plant nutrition
Fruit and vegetable production under field, greenhouse, garden and container conditions
Food product development
Food processing including niche processing of local foods
Food and agriculture regulations
Food safety and microbiology
Disease and pest management
Business practices including product branding, entrepreneurship and marketing.

The program is offered at the college's Whitby campus, home of the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food. This incredible learning environment includes orchards, agricultural fields, greenhouses, food labs and more. Students also utilize the specialized laboratories at the college’s Oshawa campus and participate in several field trips through the year.

Please note: students will be required to purchase green tag safety boots in order to participate in many laboratory settings.

In The News

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)

Please note: This program may be highly competitive and have a specific selection process and application deadline. For more information, please contact recruitment@durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.3126. Please refer to Admission Processes for more details regarding highly competitive programs.

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Courses and course descriptions are subject to change. Please note that as a result of COVID-19 the 2020-21 program of study may be modified to accommodate program delivery changes. Students should refer to their timetable for the most up-to-date course information.

Costs

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Coordinator of environmental and community projects with municipalities
Farm manager or production assistant on vegetable or fruit farms
Manager or coordinator of roof-top and community gardens
Manager or production assistant for crop production in greenhouses
Owner/operator of your own food production farm
Quality control technician
Product development technician

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Agriculture, garden and food product sales
Community and roof-top gardens
Entrepreneur/small business owner
Field production
Greenhouses
Municipal parks and recreation departments
Specialty or national brand food companies

Experiential Learning

field placement

Your learning experience will be complemented by a field placement opportunity in food and farming. Students work on farms, in greenhouses, at food production operations, apiaries and with small food entrepreneurs.

Capstone product development

Bringing together all the learning in the program, students complete a final semester capstone project that requires the development of a value-added food product. In addition, students have opportunities to showcase their product publicly.

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Durham College also offers degree completion opportunities with a number of Canadian and international institutions. Sample diploma-to-degree opportunities include:

Please visit our pathways page to learn more about how you can transfer your credits towards a degree.

Technology Recommendations

To help students have the best remote learning experience possible, Durham College’s IT Services department has identified technology recommendations for each program based on course needs and software requirements. While not required, students may want to consider these suggestions if they are purchasing a computer or laptop for the upcoming academic year.

Processor: i3
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 256GB SSD
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional or Education x64 SP1
Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 11 or Google Chrome (newest version) or Firefox (newest version)
Network Adapter: 802.11ac 2.4/5 GHz wireless adapter
Camera: Webcam/built-in camera
Internet connection

Questions regarding technology recommendations can be directed to the IT Service Desk or the school office.

Each summer, a number of students are selected for paid work in the CFF fields and grounds. A crew is also hired for the fall and winter semesters. This allows them to build on the learning from their first year and take part in legacy projects.

COVID-19 Information

Horticulture – Food and Farming

Program Overview

Admission Requirements

Tuition

Semester 1 Courses

Technology recommendations

Intakes and Availability

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Program Details

In The News

Admission Requirements

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Costs

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Experiential Learning

field placement

Capstone product development

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Technology Recommendations

Horticulture - Food and Farming in the news

Helpful Resources

College guide September 2020 [PDF]

College guide September 2020 [Interactive]

Graduate Employment Report [PDF]

What's Trending at DC