Universities
Lakeland College hosts one of only a half dozen student-managed working farms in Canada, and is one of the largest in North America. There are two components—crops and livestock. Note: There are several farming for credit operations at institutions throughout North America; however most are in the one to 15 ac ranges.
Lakeland College’s Student-Managed Farm powered by New Holland includes both crops and livestock.
Students in the crop technology program use the student managed farm (SMF) to hone modern grain farming skills such as machinery operation, grain, oilseed and specialty crop marketing, management of farm finance and operation and utilization of GPS and GIS technology. Students enrolled in Crop Technology actively participate in harvesting the crop on the 2,300-acre (931 ha) farm. During the fall and winter, students market, harvest and plan the crops to be seeded in spring.
The Animal Science SMF started in the 2008–09 academic year. Students choose from purebred beef, commercial beef, dairy, sheep and research units
Although established to provide agricultural training, Lakeland has branched out beyond agriculture while maintaining those roots. Today Lakeland students take agricultural sciences, business, environmental sciences, fire and emergency services, health and wellness, human services, interior design technology, apprenticeship and pre-employment trades training, street rod technologies and university transfer.
Students in the interior design technology program have won numerous national and international student design contests. To date it is the only Canadian program endorsed by the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). The program has also been recognized with Excellence in Education Awards from the NKBA.
Its Appraisals and Assessment program is one of only three colleges and universities licensed in Canada to teach real property assessment (the program licensor is the University of British Columbia). Students receive a certificate in Real Property Assessment from the University of British Columbia.
Fire and emergency training programs draw students from across Canada as well as other countries. The Emergency Training Centre offers pre-professional, municipal and corporate training in fire, pre-hospital and other emergency response programs. The emergency services technologist program is the only one of its kind in Canada. Students train in both fire and emergency medical response, then specialize in one of those disciplines.
