Reading Time: 8 minutes We begin with a happy story. It was 3 a.m. and 18-year-old Ryan Galbraith was sitting in a seeder in a field in the middle of Western Australia when he realized all he wanted was to be a farmer. “It was one of those moments — you’re just out there enjoying it, you’re tired but […] Read more
Young, and (not) feeling stuck
You’ve gone back to the farm. You’re eager to make real decisions. You feel ready for it too, if only Mom and Dad would let you. So how do you convince them?
City-bred farm workers
Is your next employee working today on an urban farm in Toronto?
Reading Time: 5 minutes In cities like Vancouver and Toronto, urban farms are creating a new pathway for the next generation of Canada’s farmers and farm workers, whether these young people see themselves destined for city or, indeed, rural operations. Toronto Urban Growers (TUG), a non-profit network that connects growers and facilitates knowledge sharing between them, will work with […] Read more
Skill share
Farmers like Cheryl and Marc Norleen are giving time where it’s needed
Reading Time: 9 minutes Farmers raising livestock and growing crops in developing countries often lack access to modern equipment and the capital needed to make improvements on their farms. They face other hurdles too. Without computers or the internet, it’s impossible to watch YouTube videos for step-by-step instructions to repair equipment or to learn new farming techniques, and there […] Read more
Professional farming
You see it at post-secondary schools all across the country. Agriculture has a new swagger
Reading Time: 6 minutes When parents ask Rickey Yada if their sons and daughters will find jobs after college or university graduation, his answer is always yes — as long as they’re studying agriculture. As dean of the faculty of land and food systems at the University of British Columbia, Yada is constantly amazed at how quickly undergraduate and […] Read more
Moving towards a career with purpose
Discovering an interest in range management has broadened Jourdyn Sammons' educational opportunities
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – When Jourdyn Sammons joined the University of Saskatchewan’s Range Team in her third year of undergraduate studies, it led to an exciting field of study that’s positively shaped her educational experience. “We talk about varying topics like ecology and grazing practices and multiple-use relationships, like how people can utilize rangeland for its facilities,” says Sammons, who grew up on a cow-calf and grain farm […] Read more
‘You can’t hand it to them’
Every transition is unique. This one is too. But inside Kyle (left) and Bryan Maynard’s experience are nuggets that can transform the process for farms across the country
Reading Time: 10 minutes It all makes perfect sense. When, two days before their eighth and 10th birthdays, brothers Bryan and Kyle Maynard lost their dad, Kent, in a tragic farm accident, of course the future of the farm was thrown into disarray. Kent had grown up nearby on a Prince Edward Island dairy and hog farm, but in […] Read more
Goodbye to Canada’s ‘average’ farm
It used to be that one farm on a road was pretty much like every other. Not anymore
Reading Time: 9 minutes What does an average farm look like in today’s Canada. If there is such a thing these days, there’s a good chance it looks a lot more like Scott Beaton’s farm than you would ever have thought possible. Beaton didn’t grow up on a farm, or think he’d ever have one of his own, but […] Read more
What lies ahead in a post-COVID world?
Young farmers around the world weigh how the pandemic has had an impact on them, and how it’ll change how they pursue success
Reading Time: 5 minutes The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged farmers worldwide. Now, only time will tell which of its impacts will be with us the longest, and which will have the greatest impact. Already, though, knowledgeable and influential young farmers across the globe have a sense of what may be next, and certainly what’s necessary for the road ahead. […] Read more
After a decade in agriculture, these new farmers weigh in
Having completed their first decade, Adam and Amy Petherick, with son Lucas, take stock. They’ve met hopes, challenges, successes. What’s next?
Reading Time: 11 minutes About 2010, the tide turned. Or, the tides, with an “s.” Agriculture had finally left the gruelling 1990s behind, leading to an uptick in twenty-somethings with a realistic shot of making it on the farm. But it was also clear that this new generation was never going to start their careers the way their parents […] Read more
Young and farming in Austria
Our agricultures are utterly different. But could Austrian strategies for helping young farmers work in Canada too?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Clouds shroud the mountains in grey, and snow covers the cherry trees and the pastures. “You’re missing a spectacular alpine view,” comments Jakob Mathis, wiping his hands on his jeans before shaking hands. They’ve just finished trimming hooves on the heifers. Mathis leads the way into the large old farmhouse, stopping by the newly renovated […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
