http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/index/ en info@cheryldavie.com Copyright 2010 2010-02-01T19:54:39+00:00 http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/fed_minister_meets_with_young_farmers_in_bc/ http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/fed_minister_meets_with_young_farmers_in_bc/#When:19:54:39Z Published in Country Life in BC, January 2010 Why are not more young people pursuing a career in farming?  This question has been on Prime Minister Stephen Haper’s mind so he recently sent Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minster of State ( Agriculture) on a cross country tour to have round table discussions with young farmers, teachers, students, and organizations that support young farmers.  The tour included stops in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.  On Friday November 13, he was in BC to speak with young farmers and students at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford.  In an interview after the session, Minister Blackburn noted that his “biggest surprise at this meeting was that the students and young farmers were not aware of all the programs available to them to start farming on their own.”  For example, Farm Credit Canada offers three different loan options to help young farmers purchase or take over existing farms.  These loans include features such as down payments as low as zero or interest only payments.  “The young students eyes were wide open when I told them about these programs.” Minister Blackburn continues, “They asked ‘Why had we not heard about this?”  Minister Blackburn reminded his audience to not worry so much about how much they need to borrow, but rather focus on their business plan and whether they will be able to make the payments.  He also noted that many of the round table participants didn’t know about the insurance programs available through Growing Forward to help farmers get through bad years.  Myles Andrew of BC Young Farmers Association (BCYF) noted that while programs such as the FCC Transition Loan are a step in the right direction, it is not enough to enable a young farmer to start out. “For a 25 acre piece of bare land in the Fraser Valley, the value is approximately $2 M.  A 10% down payment would still be $200,000, and the payments disbursed over 5 years would be over $30,000 per month. Who can afford to start a farm with these costs?”  Minister Blackburn spoke about current programs that allow a tax free capital gains allowance of up to $750,000 when transferring farm assets to another family member.  However, he acknowledges that this amount is not keeping up with the price of land and should be increased to further support trans-fer of farm assets to the next generation.  In his round table discussions Minister Blackburn asked students for their comments about the role of supply management in Canada and the image of agriculture in general. “The students felt it was im-portant to protect supply management in Canada. The statistics also show that the supply managed sectors are attracting more young people than other sectors.” commented Blackburn, “In the supply managed sectors, the average age of farmers is 45, but in the grain sector it is 62.”  In regards to the image of agriculture, he learned from students and teachers that the perceived image of agriculture is preventing many students from pursuing it as a career.  He notes that advertising should be done to help change this image.  The young farmers felt strongly about this issue, ““We discussed UBC changing the name of its Agri-culture Sciences program to ‘Lands and Food Systems’.  This is a very clear statement of the discon-nect that society has developed between the food they eat and the people that produce it,” remarks Andrew, “Agriculture has turned into a “ it is nice to see from a distance, but I do not want to smell it or see it” stigma. My hope is that the government realizes its significance and are prepared to take appropriate action.” Minister Blackburn was extremely impressed with the enthusiasm at this round table discussion and noted that the young farmers and agriculture students in BC appeared more optimistic than in other areas of the country.  -30- 2010-02-01T19:54:39+00:00 http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/fraser_valley_students_carving_out_careers_in_culinary_arts_program/ http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/fraser_valley_students_carving_out_careers_in_culinary_arts_program/#When:00:49:08Z Published in Country Life in BC. January 2010: Secondary school culinary arts students in BC are now graduating with practical skills in carving turkeys and de-boning chicken, thanks to a pilot program initiated by the BC Ag in the Classroom Foundation (AITC).  “Take a Bite of BC” is delivering B.C. products to fourteen secondary schools across the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver from September to December 2009.  Recently, AITC invited their industry supporters to take a bite for themselves. Brie & pear pizza, gouda, ham & pineapple pizza, pork tenderloin with potatoes and vegetarian quiche were eagerly and profession-ally prepared by the culinary arts students of Walnut Grove Secondary in Langley, under the leadership of Chef Mona Garga.  “This program has created a huge buzz of excitement in both our culinary students who are preparing the food, and the entire student body who is eating it.” commented Principal Barry Bunyan, “It has created opportunities to create a greater range of items because previously the cost of food limited what the stu-dents could prepare. It has taken our culinary program to the next level.”   “My friends are all talking about the great food we are serving in the cafeteria…and its all healthy too. The other day, my buddy got a pork sandwich and we all started talking about how it was the best thing on the menu.” comments Tyler Helm, a grade 12 culinary arts student, “The crowds in the cafeteria have actually doubled since this program started” Helm is especially pleased with what he has learned, “In previous years, sometimes when the chef was training us, we could only watch because there was not enough food to go around. This year, we each had a chance to debone a chicken and carve a turkey and we were very excited about that!” “The teaching chefs were all very grateful and so humbled to think that the industry would support their efforts in this generous way.” said Lindsay Babineau, Executive Director of AITC, “These chefs will be solid ambassadors for B.C. products and will instill that support in their future chefs and the thousands of students at their schools. “  The food was generously donated by local industry groups and funding for distribution of product was provided by the agricultural advisory committees of both Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional Districts. “Even in such early stages, this program has proved to be a very successful experiment.” commented Prin-cipal Bunyan, “Our next goal is to provide more information to the general student population about where the food is coming from and who is providing it to us.” According to Michelle Fripps, BCAITC Program Coordinator, “This is a win - win - win Program.  Stu-dents benefit by eating healthy BC products, local farmers get to showcase their wares and aspiring chefs receive a hands-on learning opportunity.”  2010-01-21T00:49:08+00:00 http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/bads_a_dream_come_true_for_new_bc_farmers/ http://cheryldavie.com/index.php/blog/bads_a_dream_come_true_for_new_bc_farmers/#When:04:01:01Z New program to use unused agricultural land as an incubator farm for aspiring farmers.  I am Vice President of BADS and wrote this article for the media.  October 6, 2009 Abbotsford, BC When Kevin Koopmans started co-ordinating the Abbotsford Food & Connection Table (AFACT) in the spring of 2008, he did not expect that one of the outcomes would be making dreams come true to three aspiring farmers. “It all fell into place and the results have exceeded my expectations,” said Koopmans, a Community Developer at Community Futures South Fraser in Abbotsford. AFACT is a network of individuals in Abbotsford who are involved in or have an interest in food and agriculture issues.  One of their greatest areas of concern is the aging population of farmers in BC.  “The average age of a farmer in BC is 54 and this concerns us…who is growing to grow our food in 20 years?”  Kevin did some research and found that there are many young people who are interested in farming, but fear of large capital investments prevent them from doing it.  “Unless you are born on a farm, the price of land in BC makes owning farmland almost impossible for most aspiring farmers. The good news is, there are other ways to start farming” continues Kevin.  AFACT became aware of a small piece of unused agricultural land, owned by The City of Abbotsford and available through an affordable lease. This opportunity for new farmers could not be ignored and Kevin officially incorporated the Barrowtown Agricultural Development Society (BADS) on July 24, 2009. Three new farmers, Hannah Cavendish-Palmer, Jamie Scoular and Amy Suess, came forward, calling their business Skeeter Farm. The small piece of land needed to be cleared, cultivated, planted, cared for, and irrigated. They are motivated by a common vision for an alternative to mainstream agriculture, involving sustainable farming techniques and a desire to supply the local community with clean, fresh food. Starting a farm is no easy process and the farmers have had to overcome several barriers to get to where they are now. “The three of us started this process with very little knowledge of how to successfully produce crops for market.  We have had to overcome a fear of the unknown, do our research and put in some long hard hours on the farm to develop our business,” says Suess. They grow a variety of vegetables including greens, cole crops, cucumbers, zucchini and squashes, corn, beans, peas, fresh herbs, potatoes, flowers and much more. They have two main marketing channels:  a weekly box program where customers receive a reasonably priced box of veggies with enough fresh food to last them the week and a booth at the Abbotsford Farm and Country Market. “We are more than pleased with the results of our first year farming. Of course, there has been a tremendous learning curve. We have made mistakes and will likely do some things differently next year, but that is part of starting any new business,” says Cavendish-Palmer. The three new farmers feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of a project that uses alternative models of farm ownership to grow new farmers. They hope to show that small-scale farming is a viable option for those out there considering a career in food production. Bruce Fatkin, Manager of the Abbotsford Farm & Country Market has been very pleased with the product marketing of Skeeter Farm during its first year, “I know that our customers are always looking for more fresh, local produce. The addition of Skeeter Farm as a market vendor has added more and different produce, giving customers greater selection. The customers have embraced Skeeter Farm, supporting it at a significant level from day one.”  Mark Robbins, Regional Agrologist for the BC Ministry of Agriculture &Lands has been amazed at the progress of these farmers. “You cannot buy a franchise for farming - there is no fool proof recipe for growing crops. New farmers need hands-on experience before they are ready to make a major investment of time and money into farming:  BADS provides this.” “We have had great community support, from the City of Abbotsford council providing the land, the Big Steel Box Company providing a storage container,” says Koopmans, “the ministry of Agriculture providing expertise, and many individuals in the community stepping up to help out on the farm.” “We have been fortunate that these three farmers have enthusiastically come forward, investing both time and money in the project.” says Cheryl Davie, Vice President of BADS.  “However, funding will be needed to expand this opportunity to more individuals.” The vision for the Barrowtown site is an incubator farm that will help budding agricultural producers test a business plan and establish a customer base. Generally, it takes several years before a market farm becomes sustainable. An incubator farm provides a means for new farmers to learn (and make mistakes) without the high stakes of a mortgage. Hoping to grow this program, BADS is always looking for individuals and organizations with land, equipment, expertise, capital and aspiring farmers.  For more information about BADS contact Kevin Koopmans at Community Futures South Fraser tel 604-864-5770 ext 309 or Kevin.Koopmans@southfraser.com. You can follow Skeeter Farm’s blog at http://skeeterfarm.blogspot.com/ 2009-10-07T04:01:01+00:00