Cover Story: The Graying of Ontario Agriculture
Friday, August 8, 2008
With five times as many farmers over 55 as under 35, there's an urgent need to recruit and train the next generation of farmers. Several programs cater to the organic sector, but when it comes to conventional farming, offerings are piecemeal
by Mary Baxter
Yehuda Nestel jokes that his only family connection to agriculture is a story his parents tell of moving to Israel to live on a kibbutz and farm watermelons. They left within months.
The 23-year-old says his first direct experience of farm life came after high school, when he and a friend, in search of an inexpensive way to travel, enrolled in a program which allowed people to trade labour for accommodation on farms. What Nestel, who grew up in Toronto's tony Forest Hill neighbourhood, hadn't anticipated was how the countrywide trek would fan a desire to farm.
Today, he's taken several steps towards achieving his goal. Through a program called Farmers Growing Farmers, he's developed a business plan for a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm powered by horses, organized financing and made connections within Ontario's organic farm community. Through another program called CRAFT (the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training in Ontario), he's building practical skills through season-long internships, this year spent at Orchard Hill Farm near St. Thomas.
Trevor Christie, 18, shares the dream of one day owning a farm, only this Bruce County teen's path to achieving his dream differs significantly from Nestel's.
That's because Christie grew up on his family's Tara-area operation which cash-crops 1,000 acres and milks 50 cows. With that kind of background, he's got piles of the practical experience Nestel lacks.
Through the agriculture specialist high skills major program he completed this year at Chesley District High School, he's also learned "the basics" about beef cattle, sheep, goats and field crops. Next year, he'll attend the Ridgetown campus of the University of Guelph to learn "the science part," he says. After college, he'll return to the family farm, where he plans to run the dairy portion of the operation.
There's a lot of concern these days about who's going to be farming in Ontario a decade from now. No wonder. Statistics paint a bleak picture. By 2006, there were five times as many farmers over the age of 55 as there were under the age of 35. Many of those older farmers are expected to exit agriculture over the next 10 to 15 years.
So who's going to take over?
A 2004 study by researchers with Statistics Canada and the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that 97 per cent of those who enter farming in North America are like Christie. Many of them come from a farm family and will take over the family farm or an aspect of it. Others, however, will leave and return later on in a separate venture, starting from scratch.
A growing emphasis on local food production and the drop in the number of farms in Ontario – 17 per cent for farms between 1991 and 2006 and 18 per cent for farm operators in the same period – raises the question of whether this group will generate enough farmers to meet the demand. "There are farmers' markets which are all screaming for farmers; but then there are school boards and public institutions like the City of Toronto or Brampton, (competing for locally grown products)" says Christie Young, director and founder of FarmStart, a program that helps those from non-farm backgrounds get their start. Added into the mix are universities and restaurants wanting local, quality food. "We don't have the farmers who can provide that type of product right now," she says.
In a sector where meetings are dominated by graying heads, young people like Nestel and Christie are becoming a "hot commodity," as Nestel puts it. At a recent board of directors meeting, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture resolved to provide services and programs specifically designed for young farmers and new entrants to the industry. This past winter, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario released a position statement calling for a new entrant program to be introduced which does not differentiate between those with farm or non-farm backgrounds. This summer, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) was preparing to announce a series of consultations with industry stakeholders about what such programs should look like.
Tough obstacles
Yet not all in the tiny category of new-to-farming farmers are young. Studies conducted in the United States and Britain indicate that people are coming from all walks of life, attracted by the lifestyle and an opportunity to live off the land. (Statistics Canada has not yet compiled detailed demographic information about this group.)
Some are in mid-life and considering farming as a second career or an addition to the one they already have. Others are looking for something to occupy their retirement. And still others are like Nestel – fresh from post-secondary studies with a keen interest in the environment.
As these newcomers start from scratch, they're discovering that breaking into farming presents some tough obstacles.
Back in the mid-1990s, obtaining financing was the biggest hurdle Donald and Joanne Russell encountered when they entered the dairy business. Joanne came from a farm background, but Donald didn't. However, he had worked on a dairy farm when he was a teen and studied agriculture at the University of Guelph. "We tried for years to get someone to lend us the money and no one would," Donald says, recalling having drawn up 28 different scenarios for raising the funds.
He ended up approaching a local MP about the situation and learned that the Farm Credit Corporation was required to lend money as long as the "cash flowed."
A week after visiting the MP, he received approval from the federal corporation for a loan to buy quota.
"I tried to get Dairy Farmers of Ontario to have a start program," he says. "They are working on it now and I hope that they are going to go through with it. But it would have helped me a tremendous deal. It would have added 10 years to my life."
Today, Tarrah Young, 31, and Nathan Stevens, 27, face that same financing hurdle. Both come from urban backgrounds. Tarrah, no relation to Christie, grew up in Kitchener and studied environmental biology at the University of Guelph. Nathan studied animation at Sheridan College. This year, the couple bought a 50-acre farm in Grey County, where they plan to establish a CSA which caters to corporations and offers livestock such as turkeys, chickens and pigs. To finance the venture, they've both continued their off-farm jobs. It's enough to get the operation up and running, but affording quota is simply out of the question.
Tarrah says that the current guidelines for chicken quota create a situation of either too little or too much.
She can raise 300 birds a year exempt from quota and a pilot program launched this year by Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) allows her to sell the birds either on-farm or through farmers' markets. But 300 birds just aren't enough to build a market demand for the birds, she says.
On the other hand, she has neither the funds nor the desire to meet the board's minimum quota levels of 14,000 birds per premises. (CFO spokesperson Mary Fearon notes that the board does allow for reduced quota levels under special circumstances, such as a niche market that doesn't meet the minimum for quota.)
Finding land a problem
For Yehuda Nestel, funding isn't so much the issue. He has arranged funding for capital costs of the start-up and will use revenue from advance crop shares sold to consumers to finance costs of production, a common practice in CSAs. His greatest challenge to date is finding affordable land.
"I wanted to rent land this season and do testing," he says, noting that so far he hasn't found an appropriate property. He's looking for 25 to 30 acres within a 30-mile radius of Guelph and wants to be in an area that has a critical mass of similar operations.
Finding land is a common problem for farmers starting out, says Christie Young. A desire to help beginning farmers to obtain land, as well as other resources, is what inspired FarmStart's incubator program. The program, which has access to certified organic land at the 250-acre St. Ignatius Jesuit Centre outside of Guelph and about 45 acres on a farm near Brampton, offers people an opportunity to try farming without risking serious losses. It subsidizes about 20 per cent of the costs of renting the land, equipment, storage space and cold storage for three years. Those accepted into the program – so far there are six at the farming stage – must foot the bill for all of their off-farm inputs. Young likens the support to what kids with farm backgrounds might get from their parents when starting out.
Peter Mitchell, who assists FarmStart with establishing partnerships notes that connecting those who want to grow crops with available land presents a huge barrier for new Canadians with farming experience but who live in urban centres. FarmStart is working with hopeful farmers within this group to make rural connections, he says. The program is also working on an Internet based service to link those who own land that they want to rent with those who want to farm.
Access to hands-on training is key for those coming from a non-farm background. But where are they to find it?
With programs such as CRAFT, FarmStart and the Farmers Growing Farmers program offered by Hillsborough-based Everdale Organic Farm, the province's sustainable and organic farm sector has developed a streamlined, comprehensive network that even includes mentoring.
However, when it comes to conventional farming, offerings are piecemeal. University and college courses might offer science and business training, but lack opportunities to build diversified, hands-on experience. So far agriculture specialist high skills major programs are only offered in a handful of rural schools.
There are a few agriculture-focused apprenticeship programs, but Carol Olinski, a program co-ordinator with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, admits that there have been problems. Those with farm backgrounds don't see apprenticeship as an attractive alternative to studying agriculture at university or college, and farm groups have not been as supportive of apprenticeships as they could have been.
Nick Bray, who operates the University of Guelph's Kemptville campus co-operative program, agrees that it's been a tough sell to develop interest in apprenticeship.
The college runs the only dairy herdsman apprenticeship program in the province and enrollment currently averages 15 to 20 students over the course of a year. Nevertheless, Bray remains hopeful and observes that the program is beginning to attract people from urban backgrounds interested in employment within the sector.
Yet these sorts of training initiatives don't really meet the needs of newcomers who may have received training in other fields and don't want to invest years in obtaining more qualifications, argue those involved in organic or ecological farming.
But help better tailored to their needs may be on the way. A proposal is in the works to build a program for start-ups around Growing Your Farm Profits, a self-directed course complete with a workbook developed by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association and OMAFRA's business management unit. (The proposal had not received funding approval by press time).
In the meantime, both FarmStart and Farmers Growing Farmers offer programs geared to help entrants understand the business of farming and formulate plans – with a catch. Adopting organic or ecological farming methods is a condition of program acceptance.
Government support needed
Some commodities also offer practical assistance – after beginning farmers have bought in. "There's quite a robust program to help them start," says Fearon of an orientation program that CFO offers new farmers. The program includes orientation meetings, on-farm visits, support on food safety and help in understanding the industry.
When it comes to attracting new entrants to agriculture, all appear to agree that government support would be helpful. "If I had access to farm start-up grants like they do in Quebec, I'd be able to grow a lot faster," Tarrah Young says. (Quebec currently offers younger farmers establishment grants ranging from $20,000 to $40,000, which can be used to obtain education, property or building improvements, buy land, livestock or repayment of interest on loans. The province also offers other start-up funding).
But what form should this support take?
Harry Pelissero, general manager of Egg Farmers of Ontario, notes that municipalities often waive land development fees or provide interest rates lower than prime for other industrial sectors. "We need to look at other models out there," he says.
Christie Young also points to initiatives governments have used for other sectors that could be used as a guide. "We choose at political levels what we want to see exist," she says. "We choose to support an automobile sector. We choose to support a high-tech sector. We can choose to support farmers and there are lots of different mechanisms we can use to make it easier to get into agriculture."
Russell suggests that some sort of government financing program may be all that it takes to give someone the opportunity to establish a farm operation. But he puts greater emphasis on generous helpings of encouragement and less on cash giveaways.
Right now, he notes, interest rates are not all that high. If your cash flow is there, you know your revenue and can "prove that you know what you're talking about." Russell's advice: stick to your goals and "you will be successful." BF
New faces in Ontario farming
Yehuda Nestel, 23
The dream: To establish a horse-powered, community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in the Guelph area.
The challenge: Finding appropriate land to rent in the location of his choice.
How he's getting there: Accessing the organic/sustainable farm network for training and contacts. Obtaining low- or interest-free loans from programs intended to support small farm ventures and youth, including the Canadian Youth Business Foundation.
Trevor Christie, 18
The dream: To take over the dairy portion of the family's Bruce County farm.
The challenge: Financing quota to expand the business.
How he's getting there: Accessing the newly-established agriculture specialist high skills major program at Chesley District High School. Continuing his education at Ridgetown College. Building on the family's farm operation.
Tarrah Young, 31 and Nathan Stevens, 27
The dream: To establish a CSA farm which includes livestock and caters to corporate markets.
The challenge: Finding the resources to expand the business while financing this year's acquisition of a 50-acre Grey County farm.
How they're getting there: Accessed the organic/sustainable farm network for training and FarmStart to launch the livestock portion of the business. Both currently maintain full-time off-farm employment.
Donald and Joanne Russell, both 39
The dream: To establish a small dairy operation.
The challenge: Arranging start-up financing.
How they got there: Took their case for financing to a local MP. Maintained off-farm employment. Opted to rent barns to help reduce capital start-up costs. To buy their own farm, they looked in eastern Ontario, where prices were more affordable than in the southwestern Ontario location where they began their venture.
Wendy Omvlee, 39 and Peter Bosfchers, 41
The dream: To establish a goat dairy operation.
The challenge: Arranging financing and practical support.
How they got there: Used their savings and maintained off-farm jobs to finance a move to Saskatchewan from New Brunswick and the acquisition of their goat herd. Shared a goat milking contract with an experienced dairy farmer and rented the farmer's barns to help reduce capital start-up costs. When the contract failed, they relocated near to a southwestern Ontario dairy specializing in goat's milk and rented barns until they bought their own facility in the same area.
Mike Driscoll, 52
The dream: To establish hops and malting barley production to serve local microbreweries as a part-time venture.
The challenge: Current information about the performance of organic hops and malting barley crops in Ontario is non-existent and likewise there's no information about how these crops will perform at the processing plant.
How he's getting there: Researching hops' performance elsewhere. Renting land from FarmStart to scale up hops and malting barley production. Accessing FarmStart's equipment and farm manager to save expenses and time. Arranging for processing tests of his crops.
Paul Legge, 18
The dream: Remain at home working on the family's Bruce County beef and cash crop operation.
The challenge: Finding the education to match his interests.
How he's getting there: Accessed the agriculture specialist high skills major program at Chesley District High School and, after graduation this year, began working on the family farm.
Jessica Foote, 25
The dream: A horse-powered, organic mixed farm operation in the Lindsay- Port Perry area.
The challenge: Because she wants to farm organic and with horses, she won't be able to access the resources of the family farm and must work from scratch to obtain financing.
How she's getting there: Accessing the organic/sustainable farm network for training and contacts. Obtaining low- or interest-free loans from programs intended to support small farm ventures and education. BF