Aged agriculture

With economic activity bustling around the province's oil and gas sector, farming opportunities for young people are seemingly overlooked - and it's showing in the demographics of farmers.

The average age of farmers in Newfoundland and Labrador is 54 according to Eugene Legge, past-president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture. For Canada, the average age is 58.

The provincial organization, representing farmers and farming groups, held its annual general meeting in Gander last week. It's theme was aptly titled - 2010 and Beyond.

As part of the event, a session was held to dive headfirst into the issue of ensuring young people join the farming community in order to sustain it.

Darryl Legge, a poultry farmer in Holyrood alongside his father Eugene, is the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers' Forum, and was amongst those who took part in the discussion.

"We're just trying to meet with all the industry stakeholders and those who are interested in farming, government representatives, and bring them into one room and try to figure out what are the challenges."

By defining those challenges, Darryl Legge said he hoped the group could then come up with ways of overcoming them in order to open up more farming opportunities for young people.

"The increase in the age of farmers and the lack of interest among young people is a problem. I really think we really need to educate the public on how it views agriculture to be. I think some people might look down on it. Getting hold of land is difficult, and deciding what product to grow or what service you're going to give is an issue also."

Eugene Legge said there are almost too many options for young people looking to choose a career path.

"There's so many opportunities for young people, and you have to make it worth their while," he said, adding that farming is an expensive profession to enter.

"At the end of the year, do I work hard and make $30,000, or do I go to Alberta and make that in three months? It's a time commitment and a financial commitment. He or she has to be able to make a living and get a good return on the investment."

Offering opportunities

As a potential opportunity for young people, Darryl Legge cited the viability of agritourism, which looks to bring visitors to farms. This can involve a variety of practices - from animal feeding and picking berries to navigating corn mazes and having an overnight stay on the farm.

Darryl Legge took a roundabout route to becoming a farmer. He grew up as part of a family farm, but initially wanted to find something different once he finished high school.

"When I was 17 or 18, I didn't want to spend my life on a farm, so I actually left and went to university and got a degree. Then I realized the importance of farming and the great lifestyle it can give you, and the opportunities were there, so I came back to it."

Reflecting on his teenage years, Darryl Legge said he perhaps took the farming life for granted.

"You don't appreciate it until you get out there and see other careers, and you start to realize it's not all about money," said Darryl Legge, who produced over 800,000 chickens last year for consumption within the province. "You've got to look at what makes you happy and what you enjoy doing for a living."

Being a farmer, he said the freedom of operating as your own boss make his profession an attractive venture.

"What you put into it is what you take out of it. It is hard work - there's no doubt."

The lifestyle also plays a part in keeping Darryl Legge in the chicken business.

"Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I'm not stuck in an office all day. You do spend some time in the office, but then you have the opportunity to go outside and use your hands. You never get bored."

Farming in the province has been on the rise in recent years. Since 2003, cash receipts for Newfoundland and Labrador farms have jumped from $79.9 million to $111.1 million in 2008, according to Statistics Canada.

Most of that growth can be attributed to livestock sales, which have grown from $64.3 million in 2003 to $92.8 million in 2008.

info@ganderbeacon.ca