Young farmers were in the spotlight last week as the federal government and the National Farmers Union turned their attention to the issue of who will produce Canada’s food in the coming decades.
Jean-Pierre Blackburn, minister of state for agriculture, was travelling across the country to meet with producers, agriculture students and academics to talk about the challenges facing young farmers.
And the NFU announced plans to launch its own Campaign for New Farmers at its annual convention in Ottawa later this month.
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The campaign is designed to increase awareness of the steep decline in the number of young and beginning farmers across the country.
The NFU says that between 1991 and 2006, Canada lost more than 60 percent of farmers younger than 35.
“This is an issue that has been left on the table far too long,” said NFU vice-president Kalissa Regier, who farms near Laird, Sask. “Canada simply can’t afford to lose any more of its farmers.”
Blackburn offered similar statistics, noting that 40 percent of farmers are older than 54 and nearing retirement, and only 10 percent of new farmers are younger than 35.
“The issue is what should we do to ensure new farmers are able to take over the family farm or newcomers are able to buy into the industry,” he said in an interview after the meeting on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
The minister’s cross-country tour also included meetings in Truro, N.S., Guelph, Ont., Abbotsford, B.C., and Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.
In Saskatoon, the minister met separately with several groups, including about 15 young farmers, 25 agriculture students, five professors and representatives of provincial farm groups.
“I’m here to listen to them, what obstacles do young people face, what can we do,” he said.
Blackburn said he was surprised to hear that about half the students have been told by their parents not to take up a career in farming.
He also found that the students were generally unaware that there are seven different federal programs that provide assistance to young and beginning farmers.
Blackburn said his report to government could recommend changes to existing programs, possible new programs, better information to young farmers about existing programs and perhaps a campaign to improve the image of farming as a career choice.
“Our conclusions will talk about what the real problems are and what we need to do to ensure we have new farmers in the future of this country and if we don’t what will happen,” he said.
He added that after the first three meetings, in Truro, Guelph and Saskatoon, he found the western Canadian students were the most pessimistic about the future.
“They seem to have seen more difficulties here,” he said.
