World Grain - October 2015 - 42

The geography of demographic changes in Canadian agriculture
In 2011, farms where the oldest operator was 55 years or older
were more prominent in all Canadian provinces. These farms were
relatively more prevalent in British Columbia and in the Atlantic
provinces, where they accounted for more than 60% of all farms.
Quebec was the only province where farms with the 55-plus
operator comprised less than 50% of all farms (48.8%). Along
with Manitoba (51.9%) and Saskatchewan (54.6%), these three
provinces had relatively fewer farms where the oldest operator was
55 years or older compared with the national percentage. 
Conversely, British Columbia (6.4%) and the Atlantic provinces
(7.1%) had the fewest proportion of farms with young operators (i.e.,
operators under 40 years old).
There are assistance programs offered by Ottawa and the
provinces to help young farmers take over the family farm or get
started with their own farm such as:
* Advance Payments Program: Provides producers with a cash
advance based on the value of their agricultural products.
x Agri-Insurance: Offers protection against the financial impacts
of production losses caused by hail, drought, flooding, disease
and other natural hazards.
x AgriStability: Offers protection against large declines in farm
income caused by circumstances such as low prices, rising
input costs and production losses.
x AgriInvest: Helps cover income declines and supports
investments that help mitigate risks.
x Canadian Agricultural Loan Act Program: Increases the
availability of loans to new and existing farmers to establish,
improve or develop their farms. Farmers can also have
access to credit for land, the construction or improvement of
buildings, or other loan purposes.
x Career Focus Program: Provides employers with a subsidy of
up to $20,000 for providing an agricultural internship to a
recent graduate in agriculture, agri-food, agri-food science
42

and veterinary medicine.
Farm Credit Canada offers free events tailored for anyone involved
with Canadian agriculture.
x Agritalent: a database of agriculture training and learning
programs offered across Canada.
x AgCareers: provides access to post-secondary and continuing
education programs in North America.
x Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training in Ontario:
offers ecological farming internships at select Ontario farms.
x Farm Link: matches you with established farmers for mentoring
relationships, business partnerships, employment or land
transfers.
Clearly, unless farming becomes a profession with more appeal
to the next generation, farms in Western Canada will continue to
become larger, more diverse and increasingly productive with the
use of modern chemicals, soil testing techniques and improved
management. However, the ownership of these farms could change
significantly.
One solution to the problem has been that foreign investors and
farm managers and agronomists be brought in to purchase and
operate farms north of the Canada/U.S. border - a strategy that was
popular during earlier period in Prairie history when very large farms
such as the Matador ranch near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, were
operated by "remittance men" at the turn of the century on behalf
of owners in England.
There's also been discussion of a campaign that would interest
Canadian youth in the business of growing food in a hungry world.
To market it as an industry requiring a long list of skills ranging
from marketing to computer technology to chemistry to business
management and to understanding and operating huge machines.
Also, with the variety of crops and the marketing options now
available in Canada, it is a diversified industry with a growing,
global market for plant and animal products.
October 2015 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - October 2015

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