ACC Agribusiness students go head to head for cash awards

Second year Agribusiness students at ACC had an opportunity to show off their skills today while competing for coveted cash awards.

Students worked in teams over the past seven months to develop agriculturally focused business plans for fictional companies. Along the way, they were tasked with finding suitable mentors in the business community to provide real world expertise in operations, business management and accounting.

The role of these projects is to help students develop strong business planning skills that are invaluable in any type of business setting,” said Agribusiness instructor Terry Powell. “Past award finalists have been aggressively recruited by employers.

Each of the 10 teams presented their plan to peers during Ag Days week this past January. The four top-ranked teams from that event continued on to present at the annual Agribusiness Plan Competition, which was held today at the college’s Victoria Avenue East Campus. Graduates of the Agribusiness program judged those presentations and selected the winning teams.

Redfern Farm Services Ltd. encourages the development of business planning skills in the college's Agribusiness program. This is the second year they have contributed $3,400 in monetary awards for the top four plans and presentations.

In addition to bragging rights, the winning team this year received $1,200. That team consisted of Erin Chambers, Meagan Enns, Matthew Tolton and William Turner who developed a plan for the fictional company Central Plains Railway Corp.

The other three teams in the finals this year developed business plans under the names Discovery Ag Ltd., Traderson Agri-Care Ltd. and Agri-West Customs Ltd.

You can view more information on ACC’s Agribusiness program here.

Left to Right: William Turner, Erin Chambers, Ray Redfern, Meagan Enns and Matthew Tolton

A full list of teams and their company names are as follows:

Central Plains Railway Corp. – First Place ($1,200)

• Erin Chambers, MacGregor
• Meagan Enns, Morden
• Matthew Tolton, Carberry
• William Turner, Boissevain

Traderson Agri-Care Ltd. – Second Place ($1,050)

• Kaitlan Patterson, Minnedosa
• Darren Harder, Minnedosa
• Mark Tripp, Boissevain

Discovery Ag Ltd. – Third Place ($750)

• Blaire Rempel, Winnipegosis
• Tiffany McLean, Dauphin
• Andrew Evans, Somerset
• Breann Fulham, Winnipeg

Agri-West Customs Ltd. – Fourth Place ($450)

• Kayla Bessant, Wawanesa
• Brittany Bessant, Wawanesa
• Nikki Bender, Russell