TROUBLE ACCESSING LAND? CURIOUS ABOUT LAND ACCESS MODELS? If you’re a new farmer and want to learn land access strategies, this webinar is for you! Help grow the national conversation on land access for new farmers!
Land access is one of the biggest challenges new and young farmers face. With over 40% of Canadian farmers retiring by 2033 (RBC, 2023), and growing land speculation across the country, stable access to growing space and farmland is increasingly difficult. Many established farmers need to use their farmland to fund retirement, creating further pressure on land prices with a 51% increase over the past two years (Farmers Forum, 2023). These land market challenges leave those starting out unable to afford farmland, leading to frustrations over housing access, pressure on land lease agreements, and poor access to growing space. So how do we break these barriers to create a fertile landscape for new and future farmers? More targeted programs and alternative approaches are needed to reduce barriers and create access for new farmers and food system grower.
This panel will feature presentations with speakers working across different contexts, from Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, to share innovative strategies and approaches to navigate land access, and highlight recommendations on new initiatives that can better support new and young farmers.
Participants will also have an opportunity to meet other new farmers, ask questions and share stories about the barriers they’re facing accessing land.
We hope you’ll join us. This discussion is not one to be missed!
This session is part of our new four-part webinar series entitled “Breaking Barriers: Building Future Farmers.” Read on to learn about the series!
WHEN: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 | 12-2pm PT, 1-3pm MT, 2-4pm CT, 3-5pm ET
LOCATION: Online on Indigenous territories across what is today known as Canada. 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.
REGISTER: Please RSVP on Eventbrite by clicking the button below.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.
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LAND ACCESS PANELISTS
STEPHANIE MORNINGSTAR North East Farmers of Colour Land Trust
A member of the Oneida, Turtle clan, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Stepahnie is an Indigenous Herbalist, scholar, student, and Earth Worker. She is dedicated to decolonizing and liberating minds, hearts, bodies, and land – one plant, person, ecosystem, and non-human being at a time. Stephanie grows medicines and food and is always learning. She cultivates many roles, as the Co-Director of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust; an Indigenous Knowledge Mobilizer for Global Water Futures; founder of Sky World Apothecary & Farm; and a member of the Leadership Council for the New England Women’s Herbal Conference and the International Herb Symposium.
RAN GOEL Founder and CEO, Fresh City Farms
Ran is the CEO & Founder of Fresh City Farms, an urban farm and organic retailer in Toronto. Ran helped increase access to urban growing space in one of Canada’s most expensive cities, identifying creative ways to increase access to growing space and build community through farming and access to locally grown, sustainable foods. His leadership has led to the creation of an 11-acre urban farming destination in Toronto near Downsview Park, and has created a foundation for a growing organization and staff team.
MARC-ANDRÉ CÔTÉ Executive Director, Fiducie Agricole
Marc-André Côté is an Executive Director of Fiducie Agricole (Quebec Farmland Trust), since 2020, an organization focused on increasing access to land in Quebec. He has a background in forest policy and has held various management positions in the forestry and agricultural sectors, including as Executive Director of the Fédération des producteurs forestiers du Québec, Deputy Executive Director of the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec and Executive Director of the Conseil de la recherche forestière du Québec. Marc-André Côté is a graduate of Université Laval and the Université du Québec à Montréal.
HEATHER PRITCHARD BC Foodlands Cooperative
Since 2006, Heather has been an an advocate of “shared farming on shared land”. As a founding member of FarmFolk CityFolk, Heather has held many roles over her 27 years of food work, including coordinating the BC region of the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, partnering on projects with Young Agrarians, and supporting the development of Community Farm Cooperatives. She is a founding member of Vancouver Food Policy Council and the BC Food Systems Network and is the current Chair of Slow Food in Canada. Since 2018, Heather connects people to land through her work at The Foodlands Cooperative of BC.
BOB MONTGOMERY Treaty Land Sharing Network
Bob Montgomery was born on Traditional Blackfoot territory in Lethbridge, Alberta. He is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and is in the process of understanding traditional Métis teachings, land-based learning practices, and nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) that hasn’t been spoken in his family for four generations. Bob has had the opportunity to learn from Indigenous peoples from across Treaty 6, Treaty 7, Métis Settlements, Métis Nation of Alberta as well as urban Indigenous peoples. Bob recently joined the Beaver Hills Biosphere team in the role of Indigenous Engagement Coordinator to support the work of the Treaty Land Sharing Network, repositioning conversations on access to land in the prairies and beyond.
Moderated by:
DARCY SMITH B.C. Program Manager, Young Agrarians
Darcy Smith has spent the last decade working to support farmers and food systems. She lives and works on unceded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories. As the first Land Matcher in B.C., then as the BCLMP program manager from 2018-2024, and now as YA’s B.C. Program Manager, she’s worked with many new entrants, seasoned farmers and farmland holders across the province, who all share a vision to help the next generation of farmers get on the land and see it producing food into the future. Darcy also edits the BC Organic Grower, a magazine showcasing organic farming across B.C.
This webinar is part of a new Young Agrarians 4-Part Webinar Series Breaking Barriers: Building Future Farmers. Running from November to March, this series will explore the biggest challenges new and young farmers face as they begin their growing journey. Each session will invite a range of speakers to explore one of the big four barriers growers face: land access, wrap-around supports; access to capital, and knowledge.
These sessions will 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. There will also be ample opportunity to hear community stories and feedback, meet inspiring and aspiring farmers, and share your burning questions with our panelists and speakers.
Save the dates:
- Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – Wrap Around Supports: A Farmer Listening Session
- Thursday, December 5, 2024 – Access To Capital
- Wednesday, March 5, 2025 – Knowledge & Mentorship
All sessions will be hosted on Zoom, from 12-2pm PT, 1-3pm MT, 2-4pm CT, 3-5pm ET. Register on EventBrite to secure your spot to attend.
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