From CEPLIS@adminnet.assiniboinec.mb.caFri Sep  1 01:01:37 1995
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 14:27:46 CST
From: Dinah <CEPLIS@adminnet.assiniboinec.mb.ca>
To: ecol-agric@mailbase.ac.uk
Cc: downes@adminnet
Subject: distance education courses (long)

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Assiniboine Community College of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada is
offerring courses by distance education in organic management and
inspection.  A copy of the course brochure follows.

Organic Training Courses

Organic management and inspection courses are available by distance
education from Assiniboine Community College in 1995-96. These courses have been developed in partnership with the organic industry
 Organic Producers Association of Manitoba Co-op Inc. (OPAM).
These courses will interest you if you are
	thinking about switching to organic production
  looking for markets for organic produce
  wanting to add value to organic food products
  wanting to enhance and/or maintain inspection skills according to
certification standards for farms and processing facilities.
	evaluating certifying bodies for accreditation.
	
What is Distance Education and
How Does it Work?

Distance education is individualized study supported by any
combination of independent study, teleconferencing, videos, audio tapes, and tutorial support. Course content is the same as students would
 receive in a classroom, but learning time can be adjusted around
busy family and work schedules.
Once a week, students participate in an evening teleconference from
their home or workplace with the instructor, who gives a short lesson to enhance the course material. Guest speakers from industry
participate in some of the teleconferences.  This is followed by an
open forum for questions and discussion. Students submit weekly assignments and prepare a final evaluation which the instructor gra
des and returns. The instructor is available for tutorial support.

Student Name:	
Student No.	
Social Insurance No.	
Course:	
Course Dates: From	
                  To		
Tuition:	
Please make cheques out to Assiniboine Community College in Canadian
funds.
This form gives authorization to invoice for tuition fees.
Name of Contact Person:	
Sponsoring Organization:	
Billing Address:	
Telephone:		Fax Number:	
Authorized Signature:	
Title:	
Date:	

Student must sign below to authorize Assinboine Community College to
provide transcripts to sponsoring agency at the end of each term.

Name	

Signature	


Group A - Compulsory Courses	Hours
 Organic Farming Techniques	60
 Organic Products Marketing Strategies	60
 Organic Value-Added Processing	60
 Organic Auditor Training	60
 Organic Farm/Processor Inspector Training	60
	TOTAL HOURS	   300

Group B - Pre-Selected Options (60 hours required)
	Hours
 Cow/Calf Production	30
 General Sheep Production	30
 Pasture Management Systems	30
 Shaping Canadian Agricultural Policy	30
 Farm Accounting	60
 Farm Accounting with Computers	60
 Entrepreneurship in Agriculture	60
                                 	Total Options	60
	TOTAL HOURS FOR CERTIFICATE	360	

	GROUP A - COMPULSORY COURSES				
	COURSE	CODE	HOURS	TUITION FEE
	Organic Farming Techniques	A21K919	60	$594
 		Tuesday, Jan. 9 to March 5/96				
	Organic Farm/Processor Inspector Training	A21K928	60	$594
 		Wednesday, March 6 to Saturday, May 4/96		
	Organic Product Marketing Strategies	A21K952	60	$594
		Thursday, Jan. 11 to March 7/96			
	Organic Value-Added Processing	A21K953	60	$594
		Thursday, Oct. 19 to Dec. 14/95			
	Organic Industry Evaluations	A21K956	60	$594
		Tuesday, Oct. 17 to Dec. 12/95				

	GROUP B - PRE-SELECTED OPTIONS				
	Cow/Calf Production	A21K915	30	$ 297
	General Sheep Production	A21K935	30	$ 486
	Pasture Management Systems	A21K937	30	$ 297
	Shaping Canadian Agricultural Policy	A21K924	30	$ 297
	Farm Accounting	A21K902	60	$ 594
	Farm Accounting with Computers	A21K929	60	$ 760
	Entrepreneurship in Agriculture	A21K918	60	$ 594

	GROUP C - CONTINUING EDUCATION  				
	Independent Organic Farm Inspector Training - Advanced	A21K930	30	$
297
		May/96	

 A21-K919
ORGANIC FARMING TECHNIQUES
This course provides a practical approach to the process of
converting a traditional farming operation into an organic operation. Included is a historical perspective of the philosophies behind organ
ic production, a discussion on regulating bodies and their
implications, weed control, fertility management, transitional procedures, and marketing practices.

 A21-K928
ORGANIC FARM/PROCESSOR INSPECTOR TRAINING
This 101A D approved course provides training in the certification
process of farms and processors, including organic standards and materials, conducting inspections and developing inspection reports
, elements of the audit trail and its review, determining
contamination and pest management, national and international organic products regulations, an overview of different types of organic farm an
d processor inspections, and aspects of communication and
confidentiality in working as an inspector. Prerequisite: Organic Farming Techniques or previous inspection skills.

 A21-K953
ORGANIC VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING
This course will help you define Ovalue-addedO opportunities and will
provide you with case studies in how to get started in a value-added business.  It will examine food processing regulations, proc
essing methods, organic certification processing standards, and
identification of further opportunities.
	
 A21-K952
ORGANIC PRODUCT MARKETING STRATEGIES
This course will explain the uniqueness of organic products and
packaging requirements and will help you establish a pricing policy. It will describe regulatory obstacles to organic marketing and reg
ulatory restrictions. You will learn how to conduct market research,
define a market, address challenging questions from the competition, prepare a sales and distribution plan, identify potential cus
tomers and determine advantages of wholesale, retail, CSA, and direct
sales. Organic Marketing Club members will be particularly interested in this course.

 A21-K956
ORGANIC INDUSTRY EVALUATIONS
You will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to perform
evaluations of Organic Certification Bodies so that they may be examined for accreditation by the Canadian Organic Advisory Board (COAB).
The implementation of the Canadian Organic Certification Standards
(Jan. 1/96) requires that COAB has access to well-trained evaluators to evaluate a CBOs compliance with the criteria and requirement
s as developed by the COAB.  Prerequisite: 101A D approved Organic
Inspector Training.

	
 A21-K930
INDEPENDENT ORGANIC INSPECTOR TRAINING - ADVANCED
This course provides advanced training for individuals who have
previous organic inspection experience and who need to meet annual continuing education requirements.  Inspectors will meet training re
quirements for independent, third-party status as required by the
Independent Organic Inspectors Association.
Prerequisite: 101A D approved Inspector Training.

 A21-K915
COW/CALF PRODUCTION
This course will discuss effective and economically sound
conventional management practices for the cow/calf producer including nutrition, health issues, vaccinations, facilities, breeding and reprod
uctive systems, and productivity evaluation
.
 A21-K935
GENERAL SHEEP PRODUCTION
This introductory course provides a practical approach to
conventional sheep production, management of flock health, record-keeping, marketing strategies, feeding systems, breeding systems, facilitie
s requirements, and shepherd skills.

 A21-K937
PASTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
In this course, you will examine varietal selection of pasture
forages, pasture planning and rotations, and pasture design including fencing patterns. Course material will incorporate access to water
 and cattle movement patterns and facilities.





 A21-K902
SHAPING CANADIAN AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Instruction will include leadership skill training, policy
formulation, and lobby techniques. Information from this course will be useful for the participant who wishes to be an effective member of a
ny farm organization.

 A21-K902
FARM ACCOUNTING
This is an introductory course stressing the fundamentals of cash and
accrual, single and double entry, bank reconciliations and preparing standard financial statements. A case farm is used to work t
hrough a variety of standard and special entries into Manitoba
AgricultureOs Farm Records Two account book.

 A21-K929
FARM ACCOUNTING WITH COMPUTERS
This course covers the basics of farm accounting including cash and
accrual, single and double entry, bank reconciliations and preparing standard financial statements. Time will also be spent discove
ring the advantages of a computer in entering case farm transactions.

 A21-K918
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AGRICULTURE
Looking for ideas to supplement your income?  Interested in
diversifying your farm?  Wondering about starting your own business, but uncertain where to start? Then  Entrepreneurship in Agriculture is
 the course for you. You will have the opportunity to take your own
ideas and work through a detailed business plan looking at all the components necessary to make a business venture a success.

Dinah Ceplis
Program Coordinator
Agriculture and Rural Enterprise Division
Assiniboine Community College
Telephone 204-726-6679
E-mail Ceplis@adminnet.assiniboinec.mb.ca
WWW: http://www.assiniboinec.mb.ca/





