Agriculture a creative, profitable pursuit, young farmers say

While the agriculture industry is coping with volatile commodity prices and increasing costs, it is also struggling with an outdated image of the farmer that is making it difficult to attract young people to agriculture.

To keep the number of Canadian farmers from shrinking even further, the industry's image needs to be revised and the public needs to be educatedabout the realities of food production, say young farmers who spoke to the Canadian Press.

"In trying to attract young people, we have to set a positive example and make it sexy," said Leona Dargis, 23, a member at large of the Canadian Young Farmers' Forum.

"[Farmers] are going to have fun, it can be profitable, there's definitely opportunities, but it takes creativity to make it work," Dargis said.

Canada's farming population is shrinking, reaching a historic low in 2006, according to Statistics Canada figures. While one in three Canadians used to live on a farm in 1931, that number plummeted to one in 46 in 2006.

The average age of people still living and working on farms is also increasing, according to the statistics.

"One of our major plans is to try to keep the young people we have on the farm," said Ian Richardson, 28, the forum's president. "Every young person we lose, it's hard to get them to ever come back, so we don't want to lose them in the first place."

Moving beyond the family farm

Many people have a misperception about what farming looks like, said Brigid Rivoire, executive director of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

"Consumers really have that kind of American gothic idea of a straw hanging out of the mouth, they might have a couple of cows and a couple of pigs," she says, referring to focus group data. "They don't understand how sophisticated farm operations have become and the type of work that they do in terms of environmental programs, food safety programs and the incredible contribution that agriculture makes to this economy."

One way to change this is to convince people that farming is a viable way to turn a profit, Richardson said.

"In agriculture, there used to be quite a mindset that you farmed because your family had farmed. Somebody was always going to take over the farm and stay there, work there," he said. "But the young farmer of today is not willing to farm for the sake of farming. We want to farm to make a profit and then to be respected and have good livings and support our families."

While Richardson grew up on a family hog and beef farm in Prince Edward Island, when he was ready to branch out he decided to take another direction. After analyzing the needs of the market, he bought a dairy farm in Newfoundland.

"We're trying to get people to think outside the box. Diversify, try different things. We've got to become more dynamic as farmers to increase our income potentials and just make agriculture a place that people want to be," he said.

Flexible education

That mindset is reflected in changes to agricultural programs at Olds College in Alberta.

Starting in the fall of 2009, the college will offer an agricultural management diploma that gives students experience in everything from animals and soils to technology and business. It's a change from traditional programs with a narrower focus.

"It's reflecting that the traditional agriculture program was focused on producing and then selling the product, and this is really about understanding what the market needs first, before looking at producing it," said Joel Gingrich, chairman of the college's school of agriculture, land and environment.

Students will "have the flexibility to change their jobs as their career evolves because of their background in each of those areas," Gingrich said.

Dargis, who has run her family's farm with her younger sisters since her parents died last year, said it never occurred to her to take another path in life.

She said she feels lucky her parents encouraged her to take part and helped her understand the vast potential for farming as a career.

"I think the next generation, and the generations to come, are more entrepreneurial," Dargis said. "They want to own their own business, and even if they're not necessarily from a farm they're faced with a challenge and they can help manage a farm, or be a part of an innovative-type group, or a farm that's really stretching out there, trying something new, diversifying."

It's important to get these concepts across to people who may see agriculture as weak or in trouble, says Rivoire.

"This is a very viable industry, and yeah, there's sometimes hiccups, but it's worthy of investing," Rivoire said. "It's not always, 'Oh, it's an industry on its knees and needs to be bailed out.' It's an incredible industry that's worthy of significant investment."