B.Sc.(Agr) Organic Agriculture at Guelph

Degree (4-year) students at Guelph, including those not in the organic major, are able to take 6 organic courses, 2 in each of Years 2, 3, and 4.

Course No.	Course Name	Term and Weight	Pre-requisites
OAGR*2050	Gateway to Organic Agriculture	F (3-3) [0.50]	5 credits (10 half-courses)
OAGR*2300	Organic Marketing (DE only)	F,W (3-0) [0.50]	ECON1050 or MCS1000
OAGR*3030	Tutorials in Organic Agriculture I	F(3-2) [0.50]	OAGR*2050
OAGR*3130	Tutorials in Organic Agriculture II	W(3-2) [0.50]	OAGR*2050
OAGR*4160	Design of Organic Production Systems	F(2-3) [0.50]	(1 of AGR2350, CROP4220, SOIL4250) or (OAGR3030, OAGR*3130)
OAGR*4180	Social Issues in Organic Agriculture	W(2-2) [0.50]	1 of EDRD3400, (OAGR3030, OAGR3130), SOC2080
Additional exposure to the sector is available through AGR*3500 Experiential Education (F(0-0) [0.50]), which is required for all B.Sc.(Agr) students, but with a focus on organics for students in the organics major.

Starting in their second year, students take their first organic courses.

OAGR*2050 Gateway to Organic Agriculture, is exactly that - an exposure course to introduce students with diverse backgrounds and interests to the scope of the field. This course emphasizes real-world experience, with about half of the labs being field trips to farms and processors, such as Pfennings Organic, a large organic vegetable wholesaler; Whole Circle Farm, a biodynamic CSA; and Mapleton Organic, a dairy that makes and sells its own ice cream and yogurt from mainstream as well as on-farm stores. Remaining labs features guest speakers from the sector, such as Green Being Farm, an on-line CSA, and Organic Meadow, a large organic dairy co-operative.

OAGR*2300 Organic Marketing is the study of basic marketing concepts in context to the organic market in Ontario. The course considers production and sourcing of OPC's, consumer behavior, the supply chain and how the production and marketing of OPC's fit into the Ontario agriculture industry and markets. The assigned readings provide context to the organic market from a science, business and conceptual basis. Group discussions, case studies and the literature are used to develop an understanding of this market. Those interested in organic production and those who intend to work in the agri-food industry with understanding of OPC's will enjoy this course.

By their third year, students are ready to take the two organic ‘tutorial’ courses, which emphasize
active, self-directed learning.

OAGR*3030 Tutorials in Organic Agriculture I uses an actual farm to encourage students to integrate the diverse kinds of information that bear on organic farming, processing, and/or marketing. Following several preparatory weeks, students will visit the farm early in the term to accumulate information relevant to their particular interest areas. They will gain first hand experience identifying farm management units through soil sampling, measuring slope and aspect, and identifying herbaceous and woody species. Processing, marketing, or other social issues will be assessed through interviews with farm family, local buyers, retailers, or others. Based on this information, students will develop a portfolio of ecologically and economically sound production, processing, and/or marketing enterprises for selected management units, for presentation in written and oral form to the farm family.

OAGR*3130 Tutorials in Organic Agriculture II relies on small group mentoring to stimulate independent, learner-centered analysis of selected topics in organic agriculture. Students participate in an interdisciplinary analysis of case study topics in biophysical crop production factors, including organic certification, non-chemical weed and pest management, and enhancing soil and crop health. This course focuses on organic agriculture from a crop production context. The objective is not to make farmers out of the participants but rather to raise issues around organic crop production that need to be addressed from a biological perspective and placed in a societal context. Organic practices will be compared to ‘conventional’ practices relative to soil-plant interactions, nutrient management, pest management, cropping practices, food safety/security, and, ultimately, environmental and economic sustainability. The goal is to encourage holistic, systematic thinking in students learning to become self-directed analysts and decisionmakers. Seminar periods consist of both guest speakers and student presentations.

To bring together the elements learned in earlier classes into a synthetic whole, fourth year
students take two capstone organic courses.

OAGR*4060 Design of Organic Production Systems is offered in concert with OAGR*3030. Fourth year students will employ the same biophysical and social information derived from the client farm but will apply it towards a higher order goal - to create enterprises mixes designed to achieve specific ecological and economic synergies at the whole farm level. This will work culminate in a Farm Business Plan.

OAGR*4180 Social Issues in Organic Agriculture is an interdisciplinary course that employs both local and global perspectives to examine the major social issues affecting organic agriculture. Through assigned readings, in-class discussions, and presentations, students will learn to integrate and synthesize issues bearing on globalization, sustainability, gender, food, rural communities, urban agriculture and the future of organic agriculture.

Students taking organic courses have an unusual degree of exposure to team-teachers from
diverse disciplines