I have a 23-year-old daughter. She turned 23 this November. She is graduating from university in December. She used to want to be a doctor and got accepted into a science program, but now she is telling me that she's going to farm. It was a little distressing for me, honestly, as a mother, that my 23-year-old daughter has been so influenced by us that she now wants to farm. She wants to be a farmer and a chef and she is actually a brilliant artist.
I have to facilitate that, but the way it is in agriculture right now our farms become our retirement, and we shouldn't look at it that way. We need to look at our farms as who we are and who are children are. That's the way it used to be, but because we have such incredible debt, I look at my farm as my security for hopefully a few years down the track. Before I get to that point, I hope I have my debt as low as I can so that when I sell my farm I can keep a bit more of that money. The reality is that my kids want to farm and I have to make that happen because I am the only way they're going to do it.
There are new programs coming out, though, such as apprenticeship and mentor programs, especially in the greenbelt areas around Toronto and Guelph, where there is a higher population than we have here in eastern Ontario. There are a lot of young people coming from the cities or even coming off farms who may not be able to farm on their property. They are learning how to farm, especially doing horticultural-type farming, community-shared agriculture, market gardening, and supplying to restaurants or independent grocery stores. It has been really encouraging to see these programs.
There's a farm called Everdale farm, and it's a learning centre outside of Guelph. There's the Ignatius Jesuit Retreat Centre. The Jesuits on the Ignatius farm are members of the NFU. They also have a mentorship program where they are growing farmers. It's called farmers growing farmers. Some of that is happening.
I know a young farmer who is actually running a very success CSA just outside of Ottawa, with about 200 clients. She is not farming on her own land; she is farming on somebody else's land. It's a wonderful family that has about 400 acres, and they said, we can't do that, but we really love what you want to do. They opened up their land and gave her the opportunity. She is a farmer; she just doesn't have to own her own land.
Also, a new wave of farmer in Canada will also be our immigrants. Our immigrants may also be our new farmers. There are some programs out now to train immigrants to farm in Canada, to supply local ethnic markets. That will be the new face of farming in Canada.