WHAT DO YOU WANT POLICYMAKERS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE OF FARMING?
Let’s talk about it.
You’re invited to a series of virtual brainstorming and consultation sessions on February 4 and 13, 2025 to share your experiences, ideas, and insights into how the provincial and national policy landscape can better serve new and young farmers.
Since 2012, Young Agrarians (YA) has worked to support the growing wave of new and young people coming into agriculture. Through hands-on program delivery, YA’s farmer-to-farmer approach supports farmers to tackle barriers ranging from access to land and capital, to technical and regulatory requirements, to education, mentorship and business support. After many years of delivering programs to thousands of farmers, YA has gained a deep understanding of the most persistent and pressing barriers facing new, young and underrepresented farmers, including Indigenous, Black, immigrant, and women farmers.
On-the-ground programs are essential to supporting farmers to get into and stay in agriculture. Real policy change is needed to address the structural conditions that undermine the future of new farmers to farm and be viable.
YA hopes to address the most pressing barriers faced by farmers in the network who are the future of our food systems. Working with the federal and provincial governments to focus on new entrants, YA aims to create more momentum for programs and services for new, young and underrepresented farmers, including advocating for Canada’s first National New Farmer Strategy that would include land access and targeted capital access.
We are thrilled to invite you to share your voice to join us in this work during our Virtual Farmer Circles, where you can contribute to the next stage of farm policy development. We want to hear from YOU about what resources you have accessed to build your farming dreams, what barriers you encountered, and what supports you need to do the work of growing food for our communities. We are beyond excited to be doing this work and can’t wait to hear from you how we can best serve the farmers who make it all possible!
WHEN: Join us for one of the two session options (either daytime or evening)
Please RSVP on Eventbrite by clicking the buttons below.
SESSION 1: Tuesday, February 4 | 2-4 pm MT / 3-5 CT
SESSION 2: Thursday, February 13 | 5-7pm MT / 6-8pm CT
LOCATION: Online. Join us from the comfort of your couch, office, tractor, compost heap – wherever you find yourself able to tune in! Zoom link will be sent out after registration.
Note: These sessions are for Prairies-based farmers. We are also hosting sessions for B.C. farmers here.
ACCESSIBILITY: Closed captioning will be available for this webinar. The captions can be automatically translated in real time to 35 different languages. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at alex@youngagrarians.org if you have any questions regarding accessibility or need support attending the online sessions.
CONFIDENTIALITY: Materials generated from these policy sessions and farmers consultations will include anonymously policy recommendations on provincial and federal levels. We will not identify anybody individually unless we have explicitly asked for your consent to include your story to illustrate a policy recommendation.
SHARE: Planning on joining us? Invite your friends and share the Facebook event.
SCHEDULE:
- Introduction Circle
- Welcome to Young Agrarians Programs and Policy Work
- Barriers and Opportunities: Collaborative Discussion and Feedback Session for New Entrant Farmer Policy
DIVE DEEPER INTO YA’S POLICY WORK
YA has other exciting policy events coming up both online and in person! Read on for info about webinars over the next months as well as the in person National Policy Jam in Parham, Ontario in March – be a part of the next phase of policy building for new and young farmers.
Explore Young Agrarians 4-Part Webinar Series Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers. Each session invites a range of speakers to explore one of the big four barriers new and young farmers face: land access, wrap-around supports; access to capital, and knowledge.
These sessions feature stories, strategies, resources, funding, and programs to help navigate persistent barriers, foster connection, and inform new approaches to better support new and young farmers across the country.
Land Access: Strategies and Stories (recording coming soon!)
Jan 15: Wrap Around Supports: A Farmer Listening Session
We would also like to invite you to our “Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers” National Policy Jam in eastern Ontario this March 15 and 16, 2025. The gathering will be a coast to coast convening of new and young farmers, farmer organizations, farm policy leaders and allies looking to learn, connect and mobilize around better supports for new and young farmers, including access to land, capital, knowledge, and wrap-around supports. The Policy Jam will be a fun and creative space to build connections, share knowledge, and grow solidarity across the new farmer ecosystem.
Stay in Touch
- Not able to join this event? Visit our Events Page for other events in your community and online!
- Join one of our regional Facebook groups to stay up to date with all events in the region.
- Sign up for our e-newsletter to get events and opportunities for your region delivered straight to your inbox.
- Questions? Reach out to us at alex@youngagrarians.org
The Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers National Policy Jam and associated work is supported by the Government of Canada through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriDiversity Program, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.