HALIFAX — One after another, farm leaders, government officials and industry players told Canadian agriculture ministers last week about the barriers that new entrants to agriculture face.
After the meeting, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said the problem of barriers to new entrants is not new and can’t be solved with simple solutions or program fixes.
“There’s no easy fix,” he said.
He said the most important factor is that the next generation think about farming as a profit-motivated business.
Norm Hall, president of Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan, singled out land prices and succession rules during a closed meeting of farmers and ministers that the Canadian Federation of Agriculture organized July 18 ahead of the federal-provincial agriculture ministers meeting.
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Hall said he complained that fund management companies can harness RRSP money to invest in land.
Farmers cannot dip into their RRSP savings.
“That really bids up the price of land and disadvantages the ability of farmers to compete for land,” he said.
“We don’t know how prevalent it is in Saskatchewan, but 200,000 acres are held by investment companies and some of that likely is RRSP money.”
He also complained about the Revenue Canada rule that makes an incorporated farm ineligible for the capital gains exemption if it passed between parent and son or daughter, while a sale outside the family is eligible.
“That simply discourages farms staying in the family,” he said.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Mark Wales talked about the potential for developing two million acres of productive clay land in northern Ontario that could be attractive for young people. However, the area lacks services to attract them.
Government has funded little research about the potential for the area as a farming zone, he added.
Christie Young, executive director of FarmStart in Ontario, said potential new entrants need government help.
“New entrants bring new ideas and skills, passion and connections to agriculture, which can mean innovation and renewal, but they also face huge obstacles and expenses and they need policy and program support,” she said in a statement after the meeting.
“We need viable, diverse and resilient new farmers today in order to have resilient and diverse food systems in the future.”
In an interview, Ritz said governments regularly review regulations to make sure they are not undue barriers.
As well, there are “robust” programs to help new entrants, including funding from Farm Credit Canada.
He said these are not simple problems with easy fixes, and both industry and government have a role.
Ritz questioned the argument that lack of access to capital and soaring land prices are key culprits.
“Price of land is up but the return on investment has also gone up, so it is a bit of a moot argument, or a moo argument, if you are talking livestock,” he said. “There’s no one simple solution.”
Ritz said a key is for potential en-trants to be able to pencil out a bottom line based on income, manageable costs and a risk management plan that produces “a business case to convince someone to lend you the money.”
He also said recent high commodity prices and record farm income are pulling more people into the industry.
For Ontario premier and agriculture minister Kathleen Wynne, the solution involves industry and government efforts to promote the sector and its opportunities.
Part of that is including more agricultural information in school curricula.
“So how do you educate young people about the possibilities?” she asked. “The school system doesn’t necessarily interest young people in agriculture. There’s more we need to do.”
