Young Agrarians is celebrating the eleventh year of the Business Mentorship Network (BMN) program in BC and the third year of the program in the Prairies! The BMN offers farm business mentorship to a diverse array of new and young farmers. The mentorship is offered over the course of a year. Through one-on-one mentorship, peer networks and online workshops new farmers develop the skills necessary to operate ecologically sustainable and financially viable farm businesses.
Mentee applications for the 2024/2025 program close October 31st.
Mentees Apply here!
Mentor applications (paid position) are accepted year-round.
Mentors Apply here!
Check out the Business Mentorship Network page for more information!
Check out one Mentee’s story below and how the BMN made a contribution to the success of their farm. Want more? Head over to our BMN Blog for more mentorship stories.
Meet a Mentee: Tara Klager
Good morning! My name is Tara Klager (she/her) from Providence Lane Homestead on Treaty 7 territory, the ancestral home of the Piikani, Kainai, Siksika, Îyârhe Nakoda, Tsuut’ina and Metis Region III. We’re located northwest of Calgary, within the watershed of the Red Deer River and at the extreme northern edge of Rocky View County.
Who was your Mentor?
Anna Hunter from Long Way Homestead
What were your goals for this season and what did you do to try to achieve them?
Initially, I wanted to find ways to build revenue. As time went on, I came to understand that I had a choice to make between building revenue and building community, at least in these early stages of our homestead. This brought on a bit of an existential crisis and I had to figure out just what I would sacrifice and what I wouldn’t. The “how/why” became way more important than the “what.”
Did you meet your goals / did it work out?
As the time of our mentorship went on, it became clear to both of us – I think? – that I wasn’t going to be able to make a conventional approach to business work. I don’t have the skill set or frankly the interest in “bottom line” thinking. It wasn’t because I hate money or anything like that and I tried – I honestly did – but I kept banging into things that I just couldn’t grasp, or didn’t feel right to compromise on. Anna very astutely pointed out that for me, it might be better to find another way forward, that trying to build a business in the usual way was going to cause me more anxiety than I had capacity for. Anna went to great pains to help me identify my strengths while also pinpointing how some of my weaknesses were limiting my options. She was also very generous and helped me feel confident that some of the things that were hard for me weren’t hard because I didn’t understand, they were hard because they weren’t a good fit. With this important feedback in mind, I have been spending quite a lot of time looking at the things I am good at and trying to figure out how to build a community where this can be part of keeping body-and-soul together while still developing opportunities and collaborative relationships.
What resources did you find most valuable to support your business during the season?
Honestly, a sense of community was so key. I’m not going to be the one who builds a business the way I see so many others – the retail websites, the shows and festivals etc. I just can’t do that. When you see all the ways you can’t make things work, sometimes it’s really hard to see the things that *might* work. The sense of community that I got from the sessions was so helpful – I particularly appreciated the proficiency and professionalism from our amazing facilitators.
What were your best sales channels/avenues?
Generating yield is my goal, “sales” are only a very small part of that. Once I was able to get over the hurdle of “sales!!” things started to feel a lot more possible. It was important for me to think that I could prioritize building community over sales and that if I was patient and careful, the sales I needed would come. People would hear our story and want to support us – they’d want to be involved. Permaculture tells us to “Obtain a yield” from our efforts but it doesn’t lay out exactly what that yield might be – it doesn’t have to be money. It might be relationships, it might be an experience, it might be character development. Yield can be any of these things. In order to give myself the freedom to consider yield in these ways – and recognizing that I have to pay my bills – I have continued to work as a freelance writer and take on other small projects. I am at peace with this approach because it allows me the freedom to monetize a skill that isn’t necessarily as tied to my values as the homestead and our heritage breed sheep are.
Why do your customers buy from you?
Our community is made up of so many different kinds of people – we have little children, academics, students, other farmers, conservationists, activists, educators, artists. Everyone is welcome here. It is my sincere hope that this feeling of being welcomed, of having something to offer and something to gain, of collaboration and acceptance is what people will want to support. The wool and breeding stock that are also part of our story help to facilitate an access point for so many of these other kinds of yields, opportunities to learn about conservation, regenerative agriculture, art and craft, history, historic breeds, land management, circular economies, abundance vs. scarcity mindset and so much more. I hope that in every exchange, whether a community member walks away with a raw fleece, a new ram for their own flock, a skein of wool, a pair of socks or just a warm feeling, our people will feel that the time they’ve spent here has been valuable to them, wherever they’re coming from, in whatever way that means the most to them.
What was the most important thing you gained from the mentorship?
Reflection and clarity. Anna helped me to coalesce around the idea that I’m different, not wrong. And that’s okay. It’s still a legitimate way to do things and my idea of success is allowed to be whatever I want it to be.
What specific business skills did the mentorship help you develop?
Confidence. It’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay not to have it all figured out. It’s okay not to look like anyone else. It’s okay.
How did mentorship impact your business overall?
I think more than anything else, Anna gave voice to the suspicion I had that things for my business weren’t going to look “normal”. And she accepted that – which meant I could. Initially I was trying to figure out how to make my values fit into my business. Anna helped me see that I was going about that all backwards and I needed to make my “business” fit my values. My identity and character are informed by my values. If I wanted to maintain my integrity, I’d need to ensure that the business I did fit into that matrix. The harder you work at trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, the less satisfaction for everyone involved. If you can’t find a way to fit into an existing system, you’ll just have to build your own. That’s completely okay – chances are, there are more of you square pegs out there. If you find a way to let them know you’re there and you stay true and authentic to what you believe, they’ll come to you.
What were the big hard lessons this season you would want to share with other farmers?
Be open to the opportunity even if there aren’t a lot of precedents. It’s scary as hell and you know what? It doesn’t get better but you have to take the leap. You take the leap and build your wings on the way down. I have a sign on my wall, “To build a world of one’s own takes courage.” Georgia O’Keefe. I haven’t got any delusions that what I’m doing is going to change anything but maybe – if I’m lucky – it’ll make things a little bit easier for someone else. Maybe if we keep changing things a little at a time, one day it’ll be a world that’s truly different – or at least, more people will have an idea that it’s possible.
What were the victories, small or large that you had this season?
One of the things I’m most proud of is the growth and quality of our newsletter. I pour a lot into the homestead’s monthly newsletter and it isn’t used as a sales channel – it’s my primary community building tool. Although our subscription base is still small (it currently hovers around 200), our engagement is high – usually above 75 per cent – and I love that the newsletter is relevant to people. I’m hopeful that as time goes on, the newsletter will continue to grow and our community will find ways to come together at regular intervals throughout the year.
What plans do you have for future farm growth (where would you like your business to go)?
For our fellow shepherds, we are investing in breed conservation and have brought our first ram up from the United States thanks to a real community-building effort! It wasn’t exactly smooth but it was a valuable experience and I’m really glad we did it. Our new ram will be foundational to our efforts to reinvigorate the Border Leicester breed in Canada.
For the public, I’d like to become more involved in generating some products that will showcase the incredible value in Border Leicester wool – unlike the down breeds, this longwool is STRONG and would make a valuable warp wool for weavers. Historically, this is how the wool was used – to make robust outerwear suitable for even our extreme climate, durable and hard-wearing. I’d like to give more people a chance to connect with that history and to see for themselves you don’t need to add synthetics for strength!
Third, for people who are interested in fashion and land stewardship, we are actively participating in several initiatives that will hopefully help the public to envision agriculture differently – to see the potential and possibilities in a new paradigm. We’ve already seen some of these changes in food production with a greater interest in eating locally- produced foods. It’s time some of these same ideas and values were applied to fibre. We have built relationships with retailers who share our values, like “Villages” in Calgary.
What are you most looking forward to this winter?
A chance to catch my breath and once that’s done, more planning for the year ahead and work on that product development and special projects mentioned above.
Where can we find you online?
Sign up for our newsletter!
You can also find me at Providence Lane Homestead on Facebook and Instagram. But really, sign up for the newsletter!!