On-farm mentoring: providing hands-on experience for would-be farmers

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Farm Management Canada's Step Up program offers one of the few comprehensive mentoring and internship opportunities in Canada and a small but growing number of students are benefiting from it

by MARY BAXTER

In 1987, Harry Koelen enrolled in an international co-operative placement program and travelled to Ridgetown from Holland to gain hands-on experience at a hog farm. The adventure not only affirmed the university student's affinity for hog production, but also familiarized him with the country that, in 1991, became his permanent home.

Today, Harry Koelen and his wife, Leony, regularly offer placements to agriculture students on their three-site, 7,000-sow farrowing operation near Paisley in Bruce County. To date, they have hosted nearly 50 students from countries such as Germany, Holland, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Cuba. "Often it's the same school, word of mouth," says Leony. Some are completing mandatory on-farm placement programs in their agricultural studies; others want to gain experience and see the world at the same time.

So, when Farm Management Canada established a mentorship program called Step Up, to address the business aspects of farming, the Koelens were keen to sign up as mentors.

The program's inclusive, comprehensive approach is a rarity in Canada's sparse offerings of agricultural mentoring and internship programs. There are no upper age limits for those who enroll in the adult program and it's offered in both official languages. No commodity or type of farming is off limits. Those seeking mentorship can travel anywhere in the country to obtain it.

"What we're aiming to do is to be the national program that suits everybody's needs," says its co-ordinator, Jennifer Hardy-Parr. "We're trying to fill that void and trying to be all things to all people, basically."

Under the five-year-old program, the mentor and mentee negotiate a learning contract that identifies five different farm business management goals. Placements last for eight weeks. Participants submit a report to Farm Management Canada halfway through and another at the end. Mentors receive a $2,000 honorarium. Participants previously received up to $1,000 to help with travel costs, but that stipend is under review, Hardy-Parr says.

The program has grown steadily. It supported five matches in 2011 and 13 in 2012, with 20 matches across the country the target for 2013. Most participants are in the 20 to 30 age range with the response mainly coming from the "market garden crowd," says Hardy-Parr. "I think that might be because market gardeners have a great network," she says, noting that, for those establishing a farm, "that's one of the most accessible types of farming to get into."

Those who have participated speak positively about the program. It was "a great chance for me to get to go and learn a bit more," says Evalisa McIllfaterick, who last year obtained Renata Thiboutot, a Thunder Bay area farmer, as a mentor through the program.

Renata Thiboutot and her husband, Maurice, operate a small mixed farm that includes beef cattle and garden vegetables such as garlic, onions, beets, carrots, turnips and parsnips. They grow their own hay and grain, and they follow organic practices but are not certified.

The Thiboutots have hosted people through other exchange programs. What Renata liked about the Step Up program was the opportunity to vet the mentee. Renata approached McIllfaterick about enrolling in the program. She knew the 32-year-old, who studies geology at Lakehead University, is also keen to farm. So much so, in fact, that a few years ago McIllfaterick spent a summer at a local farm on a WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) exchange and, four years ago, bought 50 acres close by.

The program's business focus offered McIllfaterick a chance to get more involved in the business end of the operation – scheduling planting, doing bookkeeping, sorting the logistics of transporting product to the local farmers market and identifying other market opportunities, as well as the tools and infrastructure needed for the business.

She recalls how last year's unusual weather led to problems with the farm's garlic crop, one of the main crops. While the garlic was usable, it had lost its exterior skin and so couldn't be stored long or sold in its whole form.

"It was so incredibly disheartening," McIllfaterick says. "That really hammered home to me the importance of diversifying what you grow but also having to be ready for that. It just happens."

Jessica Gulyas, 28, had also built up experience farming through an internship and employment before enrolling in Step Up last year. She and her partner had even established a three-acre market garden on Prince Edward Island in 2011. But, in 2012, they lacked the finances to start their own production and Gulyas realized that there was much more she wanted to learn, particularly about marketing. So she contacted Karen Campbell, one of the founding members of the farm where Gulyas had previously worked as an employee: Everdale Organic Farm and Environmental Learning Centre near Hillsburgh. The farm specializes in teaching people how to farm organically through internships and courses.

Campbell knew of the Step Up program because the centre had mentored two people the year before, one of whom was a machinist who contributed his skills to the farming operation. "That's one of the beauties of the Step Up program; we feel like it's mutually beneficial," Campbell says.

Participants come because they are passionate about learning to farm. "And when someone is like that, there's a different level of commitment. They're just more engaged and they're going to ask different questions."

Campbell recommended that Gulyas apply to Step Up and she was accepted. Over the growing season, Gulyas worked at Everdale as an employee, mostly doing fieldwork. But, in November, when the mentorship began, she undertook other projects, such as working on scheduling crops for the next year, outreach and marketing activities and helping to promote the farm's winter Community Supported Agriculture, which was in its second season.

The experience provided an opportunity to market the product she had helped to grow, and to get a taste of what it takes to plan ahead for the business. In working with the new CSA venture, she learned not only the nuts and bolts of conducting such an operation but also what it takes to get one up and running. Attending farm markets made her realize how much she enjoys marketing and connecting with people and how it has become a skill strength. This year, Gulyas is building on the experience by taking a farm-planning course from Everdale. McIllfaterick is continuing on with her university studies but notes she would like to see a second stage developed for Step Up.

That won't be happening anytime soon. For now, Hardy-Parr says the focus is on how best to expand the existing program. She'd like to see more match-ups taking place in other farm sectors.

"The main criticism I get from people is: 'Well this is a great program; why haven't I heard of it?'" she says. "I like to call it the little unknown program that's making a big difference."

Two years ago, Farm Management Canada brought in partners – 4-H Canada, the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum and Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers program – to help raise awareness. Now, they are also exploring the possibility of partnering with Canadian universities that require or encourage students to do an internship. They are also establishing a youth mentorship program for those under the age of 18.

Another challenge is finding matches for would-be mentors. The Koelens, for example, have yet to find a match. Unfamiliarity with on-farm mentorship in Canada is likely a factor in the lack of response, says Leony Koelen. Consolidation within the hog sector may also be affecting interest.

Nevertheless, the Koelens are determined to remain on the mentorship list. "I hope that we will get a referral," she says. "It would be nice to see how it works out in Canada itself. I think the program is a good idea and I'm sure it will be a good experience." BF