Applied Sustainable Ranching Diploma
Williams Lake Campus

Highlights

Play an active role in developing resilient regenerative agriculture enterprises that fit together and work in sync with nature. Learn skills in producing nutrient dense foods to nourish the world, while building soil organic matter and water holding capacity, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and reducing fossil fuels and costly inputs.

Take advantage of experiential learning through the host farm practicum or self-directed learning plan which is unique to this program. Students live and work on host farms or their own farms, learning practical skills in the enterprises they are most interested in pursuing.

This program provides students with a strong foundation in business management, as well as the opportunity to apply regenerative agriculture and resource management concepts to a variety of landscapes and circumstances. In second year, students learn management skills specific to pasture-raised beef and sheep production, winter forage production, agri-tourism and food sovereignty.

Rather than exams, student's complete assignments for each course, that are then used as building blocks for their final business and operations plan. The students present their business plans at the ‘Bull’s Den’, where they obtain feedback from a panel of subject experts from a variety of disciplines. As the culmination of their second year, this event is the highlight of the students’ learning experience.

Block Based Flexible Learning

Each course is three weeks long and there is one seminar or field trip per week, usually on a Monday or Tuesday. During the winter months, these seminars are delivered through video conference. During the summer months, students travel for field trips to farms within the region and learn from successful agriculture entrepreneurs or subject experts. The rest of the week students are working on their host farms and are completing their readings and assignments on their own schedule, to be submitted by Sunday.

Careers

• Farm and ranch operations and management
• Agriculture banking and insurance sectors
• Marketing, sales and management in the agri-business sector
• Range and land use management
• Economic development, agriculture and land management within communities
• Agriculture entrepreneur
• Agriculture business consulting

Admission Requirements

Open admission

• Grade 12 (or equivalent) or mature student status
• Foundations of Math 11 with a minimum C (or equivalent)
• English Studies 12/English First Peoples 12 (or equivalent)
• Students are responsible for finding their own, suitable work experience placement.

Next Steps

Apply to this program Visit the program website View program information package