ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER RURAL LIVING 32 The agriculture sector is no different: while the demand for trained agronomists, scientists, and skilled farm workers will continue to be in high demand—the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council estimates that there will be 100,000 vacant agriculture-related jobs by 2030—the demand for workers who can meet the needs of the sector in new and innovative ways continue to grow. To help address this skills gap, Grain Farmers of Ontario launched the Grain Farmers of Ontario Legacy Scholarship in 2022. The scholarship encourages the pursuit of higher education in any area of study that will benefit the Ontario grain sector or agri-food industry and supports the development of future leaders in these areas. Recognizing that a career in agriculture can be a career in science, technology, finance, communication, law, or public policy, the scholarship supports students whose future goals can help Grain Farmers of Ontario achieve its mission to build, defend, and promote an inclusive, innovative, and sustainable business environment that enables grain farmermembers the opportunity to prosper. Since 2022, Grain Farmers of Ontario has awarded 29 scholarships to deserving Ontario students. And the investment is paying off; here’s an update on a few of the students as they embark on their careers after graduation. THE AGGIES Lorraine Vandermyden received a Legacy Ontario Grain Farmer Funding the future of agriculture Grain Farmers of Ontario Legacy Scholarship The world of work is changing; automation and artificial intelligence, the gig economy, and a focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion are just a few of the factors that will influence job seekers in the future. Scholarship in 2023 while pursuing a master's degree in environmental science at the University of Guelph. Vandermyden graduated in 2024 and is now working for the Ontario Soil Network (OSN) as the association’s research and demonstration coordinator. “At the OSN, we strive to strengthen Ontario's agricultural communities by advancing the science of soil health, fostering peer-to-peer education, and advocating for sustainable farming practices,” says Vandermyden. “In my position at the OSN I have had the opportunity to work with grain farmers to foster innovation and implement best management practices across the province. It has been a great experience to see a lot of the practices and ideas that I learned about in school at work in the field.” Jill Ohm was part of the inaugural cohort of recipients of the Legacy Scholarship in 2022. She completed her B.Sc. (Agr.), majoring in crop science, in April, 2025. She is now working at Central Ontario FS in agronomy admin and sales support, and will be working towards achieving a Certified Crop Advisor designation. The Legacy Scholarship helped reduce the financial pressures of paying for school and allowed her to focus on leadership and extracurricular activities, says Ohm. “I was able to take on leadership roles in Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) Soil & Crop Club, College Royal, OAC Tractor Tug for Tots, and OAC 2025 Class Executive,” she says. She also participated in the ‘Weeds Team’, competing in the Northeastern and National Weed Science Contests; this summer, she will travel to New Jersey for the Northeastern Weed Science Contest. THE SCIENTISTS Anibal Castillo, a 2024 scholarship recipient, is now in her fourth year pursuing a PhD. She is studying terrestrial invertebrate biodiversity across ecological gradients. “I have completed the first project, which I am currently in the process of publishing, where I designed a method for assessing insect biodiversity from plant material,” says Castillo. Other projects, at various stages of completion, involve studying invertebrate biodiversity across different ecological gradients (elevation, salinity, land degradation), and all the chapters, in their geographical span, constitute a latitudinal axis, which has never been done before. “Once I complete my PhD, I plan to continue conducting research on the intersection of biodiversity and Integrated Pest Management,” she continues. And, leading weed research at the University of Guelph is Dr. Isabelle Aicklen, a 2023 recipient of the Legacy Scholarship. Aicklen recently took on the role of the Ontario
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