Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Day 10: Back to school

Day 10 started with boarding the bus for an hour trip to an Ag School in Venado Tuerto (One Eyed Deer).  The name of the school was Escuela Agricola and it was a private school with students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 established in 1968. The school sits on 120 hectares of land in the Santa Fe region of Argentina. In 1994, the education system was reformed and the school transformed itself to devote and encourage their students an aptitude to preserve and protect the environment.  

When we arrived, it was surprising to meet three students in the senior grades - Lucia, Thomas and Camilla. These three young people had taken time away from their last week of summer vacation to talk about their school, in very good English. There are 800 students attending the school with 120 teachers teaching them.  It is a private school that families pay for their children to attend. For us, the really interesting aspect of the school is the practical agriculture education the students get every day.

We jumped on a hay wagon to take a tour of the schools facilities. Obviously there were the regular boring classrooms but the students also had practical classrooms - a dairy barn, chicken barn, laboratory, fields with corn and soybeans and lots of equipment to use. Students attend the school because they are offered a choice by their parents and they would rather have the opportunity to learn outside as opposed to being in a classroom all the time.  Students in their senior years have the opportunity for hands on practical learning such as learning to milk a dairy herd, how to butcher and cut the different animals that had been raised at the school, repair equipment and grow and harvest crops. The kids will have very practical skills for the next step in their lives which is usually university or the work force. The classroom model combined with practical hands-on learning has proven to be a winning combination for the school’s graduates and current students.  Many in Class 15 talked about ways to have an exchange program with schools in Ontario. 

What an exciting opportunity!

Back on the bus, we drove approximately 30 km to La Constancia Farm - a farm established in 1911. Roberto Gallo gave us an introduction of the farm and talked about his farm.  Currently there are four generations living on the farm and soon to be five.  The farm raises a small pedigree herd of sheep and other small animals as well as crops a few hectares of corn and soybeans. They also provide custom application of fertilizer and herbicides for the neighbours.

One of the other activities on the farm is playing host to weddings and other functions. The property provided a beautiful setting for a wedding. Weddings often ran through the night and there are many nights where the wedding party and guests all jump into the pool!

We had a short introduction and tour of the farm before our lunch and were then served in the shade, much like a wedding would have been served. Once again we were given a tasty lunch, made and served by our hosts - empanades, salad and lamb cooked over a spit. And of course, we had the option of some red wine with lunch as well.

With lunch finished, we had some more time to walk the property, some exploring the small museum and others just walking the lovely homestead.  There might even have been a few who jumped the fence to check out the fields of corn and soybeans.

We left La Constancia and travelled the half hour back to the hotel. Our guide, Jorge, had arranged a last minute tour of a small horse farm for those who would like to go and check it out. After a quick dip in the pool to cool off, about 15 of us jumped back on the bus to go and look at a small horse operation.  Roberto, a veterinarian student, came on our bus to take us to the farm.

The farm was only 15 minutes from our hotel. The bus may have incurred a scar trying to turn into the horse farm. It’s a good thing that the fence post was only three feet tall… otherwise, we might have been putting our window fixing experience to work again! Juan is a helper and Juan’s daughter and he talked with us about his horse operation. Juan, who is also a veterinarian, apologized for not having more to show us but he put on a great show for us - including how these horses were bred to be strong and have lots of stamina for ranching and herding cattle.  We were given a demonstration of this in the small corral.  What a great last minute addition to the day!

Roberto wanted to take us to his farm to show it to us as well but the bus was unable to make the narrow turn into Roberto’s farm and we had to back up and turn the bus around and headed back to the hotel for another swim.

-Class 15

Views: 193

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Crop research a better long-term solution than BRM programs: USask Professor

Agricultural research requires investment, but it takes many years to develop a higher yielding crop variety or one with improved disease resistance. Recently announced funding and job cuts by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are expected to impact the quantity and possibly the quality of new research in both the crop and livestock sectors. Richard Gray is a professor and grains policy chair at the University of Saskatchewan and was a key note speaker Thursday at the Top Crop Summit in Saskatoon. "I think the lack of a plan to how they were actually going to do some of the activities that were happening on those farms, that's a problem, and second, I don't think there was enough thought given to whether the sites that they were closing down were important for overall productivity of the researchers that remain." Gray said of the pending closures of research sites across Canada. The Indian Head research site represented about 35 per cent of the crop area in the province and was loca

Malta bee exporter blasts criticism from Canadian beekeepers

A European honeybee provider said they’re collateral damage to a dust-up in the Canadian honey sector over replacement bees. Ermanno De Chino, CEO of Melita Bees, a firm based on the Mediterranean island of Malta, said Italian and Maltese bee biosecurity and quality are the subject of unwarranted “smears” coming from a Canadian beekeeping contingent. He said they’re “pushing for the opening of the border with the United States,” a country he said is extremely vulnerable to the tropilaelaps (tropi) mite threat. “There’s little science and a lot of politics in all of this,” he wrote in a Feb. 10 email. In a separate email, De Chino described the risk of tropilaelaps entering the U.S. as “very high” due to the “enormous” number of cargo ships from Asia arriving at the ports of California, Texas, and Florida: three states with tropi mite-friendly weather conditions. “Swarms of Asian bees arriving in containers would have an easy time establishing themselves in these areas. The enormous

LDC commissions pea protein isolate production facility in Yorkton

Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has announced the start of commissioning for its new pea protein isolate (PPI) production facility in Yorkton. Alongside pea protein, LDC will also commercialize pea fiber and a proprietary pea starch produced at the new Yorkton facility, for the pet food, building materials and paper industries. Strategically located in one of the world’s largest pea-producing regions, at the site of LDC’s existing oilseeds processing complex, the new pea protein isolate plant is expected to employ some 60 people by the end of 2026, states a news release issued by LDC. The facility is currently in its commissioning phase, covering both wet and dry processing, which will be completed over the next couple of months, with commercial volumes expected to be available by mid-June, says LDC. The site will be among the largest pea processing facilities in North America, serving key segments of the plant-based market, including high-protein beverages and powder mixes, dairy alter

Groups call for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered pork products

No laws in Canada mandate specific labels for genetically engineered foods

Reinforcing Market Support at IAOM Latin America Conference

Engaging, learning, and networking were top of mind for attendees at the International Association of Operative Millers’ (IAOM) 49th Latin American Region Annual Conference and Expo, held in February in Guadalajara, Mexico. Lisa Nemeth, Cereals Canada director of market support and training, was among the presenters at the event, which attracted over 280 milling professionals from twenty-five countries. Nemeth presented on the quality of Canadian cereals, the Canadian quality assurance system, and the market support that Cereals Canada delivers to its customers. Nemeth shared that customers were happy to see Canadian cereals represented at the conference. On average, Canada exports 5.9 million tonnes of non-durum wheat to Latin America per year. Over the last five years, the largest markets in the region for Canadian cereals were Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico. “Latin America loves Canadian cereals,” said Nemeth. “Mexico is an important market for Canada Western Red Spring (CWR

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service