Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning. I would like to thank the honourable members of the standing committee for allowing me the opportunity to come before you to discuss some of the issues regarding youth in Canadian agriculture.
To provide some background on myself, I'm a second-generation beekeeper from the Stony Plain area. I operate 2,500 colonies along with my father, strictly for honey production. I sit on the board of directors of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers. I'm the vice-president of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission and sit on the executive of the Canadian Honey Council.
I've had the opportunity over the past four years to be involved with two young farmers' groups in Alberta, the Alberta Young Farmers and the Future Agricultural Business Builders, as well as the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum.
There are a number of issues that current potential young farmers face across Canada right now. A recent report done by A.N. Scholz & Associates Incorporated with APAS in Saskatchewan, called “Strategies and Recommendations for New Entrant and Intergenerational Transfer Program Needs”, lists succession planning, business training, mentoring and apprenticeship programs, messaging and image, financial tools, immigration, and coordination as their seven major focus areas. I would like to focus on mentoring and apprenticeship programs, as well as messaging and image, in relation to youth in agriculture.
In Alberta there is a great deal of discussion and exposure regarding the lack of knowledge of our youth about where the food they eat comes from and how agriculture has an influence on their life, directly or indirectly. It's very unsettling when I hear people make light of a child saying that milk, meat, eggs, and bread come from Sobeys and not from cows, chickens, and grains. While it may be amusing to hear the innocence in their voices when they say it, it reinforces the growing disconnect the next generation has with agriculture.
As they progress through their schooling, a lot of energy is directed towards educating children on the many things they can do with their lives in the form of a career. Very seldom is primary agriculture ever discussed or promoted as an option. More often than not, the educators don't take a student's interest in agriculture seriously. I've heard numerous students tell me that the educators ask them, “Why would you want to do that?”, in a negative tone. If you go to a career fair, the number of booths dedicated to primary agriculture is limited as compared with those for other professions.
Alberta is fortunate to have the green certificate program, which is an approved complementary program of study available to all Alberta high schools. Becoming a competent farm production technician, completing a level I green certificate, requires taking three courses and upon completion receiving 16 credits. I am a tester in this program for the beekeeper production technician curriculum, and I believe that this program is a great tool available to all high school students in Alberta. The inherent problem with the program is that generally the only students who take it are those who are already active in some variety of agriculture, as it has a tendency to be used for easy credits.
That's not to say that the course is poorly written, as its content is very detailed and could definitely pose a challenge to students with and without an agricultural background. The problem I have seen with this course is that there are virtually no students from non-agricultural backgrounds taking part in the program.
How do you change this?
The people involved with creating, administering, and testing of this program are an extremely dedicated group who work towards the advancement of a student's understanding of agriculture and the continued growth of these students once they finish high school and move on to post-secondary education or move directly to a career in agriculture. Outside of this program there is very little mentorship or leadership available to students, and that outside mentorship and leadership is what's needed to get students with little to no agricultural background involved in the program.
We need to look at programs that have been successful in accomplishing such mentorship and leadership from the U.S.A., Australia, and even, within our own country, from Quebec, and find ways to incorporate that foundation in our education system in Canada.
Another area of concern for agriculture and future generations is the image agriculture has among the general public, the media, and even within government itself. In his report, Mr. Scholz states that one of the top barriers the industry faces in attracting new entrants, youth in particular, is the messaging and image attached to agriculture and farming.
Celebrating success on farms and of farmers may be the easiest way to make a difference. Recognizing the efforts of individuals puts a tangible element to the message in a way the public can understand. Federal government financial support to Bombardier, GM, and Chrysler is rationalized and promoted as a critical stimulus to the national economy, but support to agriculture is often reported as a handout. Why? The agriculture and food sector is the largest employer in every province across Canada and is the real driver of the national economy. The federal government has a vital role and responsibility in developing a positive and progressive image of farmers in the agricultural industry at large.
This is something I'm sure we've all heard numerous times. Now it's up to all of us to work on changing this image and making farming more socially acceptable and appealing for young people. Farmers generally have skill sets that cover a number of broad areas because of the unique nature of the agricultural profession, and it's imperative that we use that fact to our advantage in drawing people to agriculture.
It is also important to convey the message of what farmers contribute to society as a whole. There are provincial and national young farmers' organizations out there that are available to draw on for this, and I feel that government has a real opportunity to join with these groups to work together on these ideas.
It is apparent to those currently in agriculture that this is something our government takes seriously, given the announcement of funding from the Government of Canada for the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum and the fact that these discussions are taking place across the country right now. But more needs to be done to spread the message and to educate our youth as to the prospect of becoming agricultural producers.
In 2006, the Statistics Canada census found that only 9.1% of farmers in Canada are under the age of 35. The average age of the Canadian farmer is 52. The same census also found that 80% of Canadians live in urban centres and 20% live in rural areas. The final disturbing number is that less then 3% of our population farms. Even though our post-secondary education is doing a commendable job in giving new entrants into farming the knowledge they need to become involved, more has to be done at an earlier age to prevent the results of the Statistics Canada census from getting worse.
I would like to thank you all for taking a greater interest in future generations of agricultural producers. I would hope that as a result of these sessions across Canada, everyone works together to solve these issues as well as the many others out there.
Thank you for your time.