Prairie Innovation Centre receives $100K donation from Simplot

Assiniboine Community College’s Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture has received $100,000 from Simplot Canada Ltd.

“Simplot Canada (II) Ltd. is very pleased to support the Prairie Innovation Centre. A new agricultural centre in Brandon provides much-needed training for agriculture employees who will drive the local and regional economy for years to come. We are proud to support such a significant project and look forward to the meaningful impact it will have on agriculture in the region,” said Jolyn Rasmussen, Senior Manager Raw Development & Sustainability.

The Prairie Innovation Centre will increase opportunities for students—the future agricultural workforce—to gain real-world professional experiences through additional engagement with industry partners, and will enhance the college’s contribution to economic prosperity in Manitoba through applied research, work-integrated learning, extension and innovation.

“The agriculture industry is evolving to a place where technology and food innovations are fundamental to things like agronomy, farming or land management,” said Tim Hore, Dean of the School of Agriculture and Environment at Assiniboine. “You can’t do one without having knowledge of the other parts. Donations like this from industry partners support our mission to become leaders in agriculture education, and ensure we are producing well educated students who can enter the ag sector with the advanced skills the evolving industry needs.”

The college launched the Prairie Innovation Centre campaign in 2019 and has increased its fundraising goal twice, from $10 to 15 million, now nearing in on a new $20 million goal. In January, the Province of Manitoba made an initial commitment of $10 million toward design and costing.

“The Manitoba government is supporting this project with an initial $10 million commitment. Assiniboine Community College is at the forefront of agricultural education in our province, and the community has rallied around this important project,” said Sarah Guillemard, Minister of Advanced Education and Training. “We will continue to assess the project’s infrastructure and programming needs to support this leading-edge work.”

The Prairie Innovation Centre will create an enhanced agricultural training capacity, increasing seats in agriculture, environment and related technology programs from 300 to more than 800 to fill the growing agricultural labour gap.