Atlantic Canada selects OYF
New potato producers Marijke Oudshoon and Willem van de Wetering of Spud Isle Farms near Morell, P.E.I., are this year’s Outstanding Young Farmers in Atlantic Canada.
Oudshoon and van de Wetering grew up in the Netherlands on dairy farms. Oudshoon’s family moved to Ontario in 1999 and van de Wetering’s family moved in 2007.
In Ontario, both families farmed poultry and cash crops while Oudshoon’s family also raised pigs and veal calves. Oudshoon attended Bridgetown College and Olds College and received her agriculture business degree, while van de Wetering worked at a John Deere dealership in Ontario and received his mechanic red seal.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
They moved to Prince Edward Island in 2017 with no potato production knowledge, but by working with the previous landowner, they were able to take over an existing potato farm.
The couple will focus on using cover crops, grass waterways and reduced tillage while not increasing herbicide use. They want to extend cover cropping to two years between potato production years and hope to try new potato varieties that will better withstand adverse weather and grow with less fertilizer.
Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2023 will be chosen at the national event in Laval, Que., Nov. 22-26.
Program matches farmers and land
The British Columbia Land Matching Program has helped new and young farmers lease 11,300 acres.
The program, delivered by the Young Agrarians resource network, has helped match 284 new farmers with land throughout the province, with 54 matches made in the past year.
It offers one-on-one support through the program’s five land matchers, who work to connect farmers with land throughout the province. The support helps new and established farmers start and expand their farm operations.
The program is part of the provincial agriculture ministry’s Grow B.C. initiative, which supports young farmers and food producers looking to begin or expand their agriculture business.
By addressing challenges such as land access and business planning, it hopes to increase the number of new farmers in the province and help expand existing farms.
CAPI welcomes new board members
Three new board members have joined the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute:
- Mohamad Yaghi is RBC’s climate and agricultural policy lead in its economics and thought leadership team and has more than 10 years experience developing sustainable agriculture practices in Canada.
- Sylvie Cloutier is president and chief executive officer of the Conseil de la transformation alimentaire de Québec and brings more than 20 years of experience and leadership in the Quebec agrifood sector.
- Claude Caldwell is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University and brings more than three decades of experience in ecology, agronomy, international development and sustainable agriculture.
