Executive program targets ag mangers, directors

Thursday, August 2, 2012

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Farm leaders visiting Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (Woodstock, Sept. 11-13) will get a chance to sign up to return to school.

The Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in London will have a presence in the Farm Credit Canada (FCC) booth promoting Cultivate, a five-day executive leadership program to be launched this fall. Because FCC has put up $400,000 over five years to defray tuition costs, the $4,250 price tag is about half the cost of similar executive training programs.

In a news release, David Sparling, chair in agri-food innovation at the school, said “the Cultivate program will accelerate the development of the skills that agricultural managers, executives and board members need to lead their industries, as they learn alongside peers from across different sectors and regions.” Cultivate, the news release said, will best suit senior managers and directors of agricultural firms, commodity associations, marketing boards, and agricultural co-operatives from across Canada. Farmers who are board members of agriculture related organizations will also be welcomed into the course.

The program - Nov. 18 to 23 - will be taught at Ivey’s Spencer Leadership Centre in London. The $4,250 fee will cover tuition, course material as well as meals and lodging at the centre.

Erin Cheney, a research associate at the school, said about 30 of the 40 program spaces are filled with applicants coming from across Canada. “We’re really impressed with the calibre of applicants,” Cheney said. BF