Agriculture committee  In my club specifically, we have gone into the farmers market. We went to the local school and different places like that where we were hitting a different demographic and educating them, not necessarily about the whole food system but even just 4-H, trying to get more kids out a

Agriculture committee  I would say it's pretty split. It depends on the area and it depends on the person. I guess you could just say I'm crazier to be wanting to farm. It's hard to say, but yes, there's absolutely a split. It depends on other factors, too. It depends on if there are siblings. I know

Agriculture committee  As we mentioned, the classroom would be one of the easiest ways, because then you're hitting as many kids as possible. As you just said, there's television, and there's using the new electronic means through Facebook, through Twitter, e-mail, that kind of thing. The other thing

Agriculture committee  I don't agree with the organic system right now. I would not pay that extra premium for organic food, in my opinion, because I am aware that of the food that comes into the grocery store, 99% of it doesn't have pesticide residue on it. It's tightly regulated, but people don't rea

Agriculture committee  Yes. And then we had to buy the cows and the equipment. We've had to get four more kilos since then.

Agriculture committee  I'm not 100% sure. From what my parents have told me, I spent a lot of time in the barn or in the cab of the tractor. They tell stories about me falling asleep in the hay as they were doing chores. For dairy farming in particular, a lot of the chores are in the morning or at nigh

Agriculture committee  Absolutely, because another factor you need to consider in succession is that, for instance, in my case, Mom and Dad are going to give me the farm, but I'll have to buy out my brother. It's not fair for them to just give me all those assets immediately. I think something like tha

Agriculture committee  Yes, absolutely. That was the biggest hurdle for my parents in getting into the industry. They wanted to farm full time, but it was the 12 kilos at $32,000 that just made it impossible for the longest time. It was just a series of factors that came together: BSE hit and the borde

Agriculture committee  At the time we purchased, the supply management system was under the old rules where it was a free market, so the prices were driven by supply and demand. I believe the first 10 we bought were $32,500, and the next two were $32,000.

Agriculture committee  Yes. That was probably not quite big enough for us to start up, to be absolutely honest. They figure you need about a kilo per cow. We would like to milk 20 and we only have 16. That's all we can really manage right now. The quota system has changed, as you're aware. Now the pr

Agriculture committee  I can think of one example in my area specifically in which a kid from a non-agricultural family matched up with an older couple with no kids who had a dairy farm. Basically what they did was hire him on. He worked, and they taught him everything. Now he's set to take over the fa

Agriculture committee  I would absolutely agree; I totally think it's both. I would say that the most successful farmers you see treat it as both a business and a right. They look at the numbers side of things—the bottom line, making the money—but they also take into consideration stuff like animal wel

Agriculture committee  One opportunity that 4-H provides is “Career Mania”. That's actually what it's called. I haven't been able to attend, but I believe it's for senior members and it's where you go and talk about different careers. You talk about how to get jobs, education, and then you talk about v

Agriculture committee  Absolutely.

Agriculture committee  I would just like to say that you need to share the success stories. A lot of people said we wouldn't be able to do it, and we did. You need to tell people that.