What Is An AGGIE? | Farmer Tim

Tags

Aggie, agriculture, Allumni, farming, OAC, University of Guelph

Even though I have been out of school for just over 20 years, I still get the back to school jitters just as we are finishing up the grain and hay harvest in late August. If you don’t frequent farming circles then you may not be familiar with the term Aggie. Simply put, an Aggie is a nickname for a student of agriculture. I remember attending an open house at the University of Guelph when I was about 7 years old. I saw a number of students wearing shiny leather jackets with the name Aggie in big bold letters across the back. I remember my dad telling me that I might be an Aggie someday if I work hard in school. Low and behold it happened. I graduated in 1994 with an honours degree in Animal Science at the OAC (Ontario Agricultural College) at University of Guelph.

Yes, it still fits !

Aggies are a diverse crowd. Many have farming backgrounds. In my class I remember students that came from every kind of farm imaginable. There were crop farms, cattle farms, horse farms, pig farms, sheep farms, fish farms and even a winery. However, being a farm kid isn’t a prerequisite to becoming an Aggie. In fact, a number of my classmates came from non-farm backgrounds, but we still shared a love for all things agriculture. Some students even used the agriculture program as a stepping stone to get into veterinary school since many of our courses overlapped.

You may be wondering what an Aggie might learn at school. Well, you may be surprised by the vast array of topics that an Aggie can take. For me in the animal science program, my courses were very science based. We took many of the same courses a regular science student would have taken in our first couple of years like microbiology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, physics, calculus, statistics, botany etc. In our final couple of years our courses became more specific and were related more to animals and agriculture. For example, we took quantitative genetics, animal nutrition, animal physiology, animal behaviour and animal ethics courses.

What can you do with an Aggie degree or diploma? Almost anything! Did you know that 1 in 8 of all jobs are in agriculture and 2.1 million Canadians are employed in agricuture? In 2013 there were 56,000 career opportunities for people with an education in agriculture, but sadly from 2011-2020 it is estimated that 38% of jobs in Canadian agriculture won’t be filled. (source http://www.agmorethanever.ca). I have friends that went back to their family farms or into research, government, sales, marketing, teaching and a vast array of other jobs.

This is our class crest. The stallion was our mascot.

There are many stereotypes when it comes to Aggies. It’s true that many of us know how to two-step, or square dance. Heck, some of us even drive pick up trucks and listen to country music. However, the next time that you see an agriculture student wearing one of those distinctive Aggie jackets, I challenge you to say hello. You will find that Aggies are generally some of the most polite and well rounded people that you will ever meet. They are the future of agriculture and you can rest assure that your food is in good hands.

Me and the canon at the UofG open house in 2013. I’ve painted that canon more than a few times, but that’s a story for another day.

Follow me : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Farmer-Tim/614335515362749?ref=tn_tnmn

Like Loading... Post navigation ← Previous post Next post →

10 thoughts on “What is an AGGIE?”

1. Esther Huibers said:

   August 27, 2015 at 12:11 am

   They closed my college… Centrallia College of Agricultural Technology years ago and the buildings were left to rot. (FSM 84)

   Reply

   • Farmer Tim said:

     August 27, 2015 at 1:58 am

     That’s too bad Esther. I remember when it happened. It is such a waste 😦

     Reply

     • Deb said:

       February 8, 2017 at 3:04 am

       Another proud CCAT grad here! Agricultural Business Management 1987. Married to an OAC 86A and proud Mom of a ’13 Honours degree 🙂 Great blog post – thanks!

   • Lori Beneteau said:

     March 18, 2017 at 9:42 pm

     I am a CCAT grad too! AHT’90 It’s too bad that they closed it, it was a great school!

     Reply

2. Rita said:

   October 1, 2015 at 1:13 pm

   Hi from a fellow Aggie! I guess we would have been at Guelph around the same time. Class of 95 (moose was our mascot) Rita

   Reply

   • Farmer Tim said:

     October 2, 2015 at 1:20 am

     Hi Rita! I’m sure that we’ve probably crossed paths and enjoyed a few Aggie pups together. Thanks for saying hi!

     Reply

3. milliematte said:

   January 22, 2016 at 3:06 am

   My Dad was an Aggie: Class of ’49 or The Forty Niners, as they called themselves. 😊

   Reply

4. Bob Schmitchen said:

   September 6, 2016 at 5:44 pm

   Aggies might be well rounded and polite but they sure do know how to destroy a town when they come to the Ridgetown campus. Liqueur and beer bottles all over the place and broken furniture on the roofs of houses and messing up front lawns. We welcome you to our town and you don’t care about it.

   Reply

   • Farmer Tim said:

     September 6, 2016 at 7:05 pm

     I’m so sorry to hear that Bob. That’s nasty. I haven’t heard of any such trouble here in Guelph, but I’m sure that there has been trouble caused by all the different colleges from time to time. The engineers have a bad reputation too lol. It’s the first taste of freedom for many of them and not all of them are mature enough to handle it. I was a rarity at university and never did drink or partake in much partying. I was too busy studying and working at our home farm 😖. Not all Aggies are wild so we will try not to paint them all with the same brush. Good luck this year!

     Reply

5. Wayne Gayman said:

   September 7, 2016 at 7:54 pm

   I still have my OAC ’80 jacket as well. Can’t imagine life without having gone through OAC. I enjoy reading your comments about life on the farm and agriculture in general, keep up the good work.

   Reply

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Δ

Follow Me at Farmer Tim

Follow Me at Farmer Tim

Follow me on TwitterMy Tweets Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

• Comment
• Reblog
• Subscribe Subscribed
  • Farmer Tim
  Join 88 other subscribers Sign me up
  • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• • Farmer Tim
  • Subscribe Subscribed
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Copy shortlink
  • Report this content
  • View post in Reader
  • Manage subscriptions
  • Collapse this bar

%d Design a site like this with WordPress.comGet started