HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-03-18, Page 45Farm Progress, March 18, 2009 - Page 29
The farm industry needs as many young farmers as possible
BY CHERYL HEATH
Clinton News Record Staff
Wayne Black is a young lad by statis-
tics standards.
The 36 -year-old cash -crop farmer, and
father of three, counts himself among the
youngest of the farming community in
Huron County, though in other fields he
would easily be considered a middle-
aged veteran.
"I know three or four others," says
Black when -asked how many under age
40 full-time farmers he knows in Huron
County.
The barriers in attempting to draw new
people into the industry, says Black, are
numerous. For one, government -aid pro-
grams and grants are largely geared
towards veteran farmers. For example,
one recent program for cash crops
required records of historic yields.
Secondly, lending institutions are skit-
tish when it comes to handing out loans
to those without a farm history and, for
that matter, to anyone who is entering an
.as yet unproven market.
Black points to the dairy -goat industry
as an example of an area where there's
been exponential growth, though several
lending institutions favour granting
loans for traditional industries, like pork.
2;. In 20 years, Black can envision two
types of farming; large-scale operations
made possible through technological
advancements that require less manpow-
er, and niche markets, like dairy goats,
that will allow small-scale operations of
100 to 200 acres.
Black, who started farming full-time
in 2001, acknowledges a life on the farm
wasn't always his goal. Though his late
grandfather, Elmer, and father John are
farmers, Black envisioned .a career in
business. Indeed, he earned : a Bachelor
of Commerce degree at the University of
Guelph, and then worked at First Line
Feeds for five years after graduation.
But, eventually, he was drawn back into
the field.
"1 knew I wanted to run a business of
my own," he says.
Today, he says, there are opportunities
for young farmers, even ones without a
family history in agriculture, to get on
board.
"Young people have an optimistic out-
look about getting into agriculture," says
Black, adding he sees evidence of their
enthusiasm when he attends niche -mar-
ket meetings since there is d demand for
many products that are imported.
As for farming as a vocation, Black
says there are many benefits, including
not having to commute, getting to enjoy
meals with family, working outdoors,
and the feelitig of creating something
that is one's .own. •
And; he notes, most recently the fami-
ly, including wife Jennifer, son Gracin,
three-year-old daughter Amiera and
baby daughter Sadie took .a day trip to
London on;�.a Tuesday, which is some-
thing they couldn't have done if Wayne
held a traditional nine -to -five job.
It is with stories like Black's inmind
that a number of community partners
joined together to start FannStart, a pro-
gram designed to draw young, urban,'
multicultural and rural ;farmers into agri-
culture.
According to a 2002 study by
Agriculture and Agri -Food Canada, the
average age of current farmers is 52,, and
more than three quarters of today's farm-
ers are planning to sell or transfer their.
farms in the next decade.
FarmStart, a not-for-profit organiza-
tion, was created, in part, to help refresh
the province's supply. of farmers.
"We encourage new farmers to be
entrepreneurs, to creatively -turn chal-
lenges into opportunities," .says Mike
Shook, FarmStart's program manager.
"Our projects focus on developing dif-
ferent types of farms including coopera-
tives We also encourage our farmers to
explore new market opportunities, eco=
logical -production methods, innovative
business models and value-added pre-
cuts."
Early inthe program, FarmStart iden-
tified the lack of farm business -manage-
ment training course geared to new
small-scale farmers and Canadians wish-
ing to start agricultural enterprises.: In
2007, with $40,000 in funding support
from the Agricultural Management
Institute. (AMI), FannStart implemented
a Farm Business Planning and
Management pilot project. That course
drew prospective farmers form Toronto
and Guelph.
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