“I realized that working for the family farm instead of pursuing a career in environment or policy research was an invaluable opportunity: one where I would satisfy my interests in sustainability, biodiversity, and policy and be challenged to continuously learn and improve.”
-Sarah Foley of Rogue Acres, Saskatchewan
Young Agrarians is celebrating the eleventh year of the Business Mentorship Network (BMN) program in BC and the third year of the BMN 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.
Applications for Mentees across Western Canada open in October 2025. Mentor applications are accepted year-round. Want to be notified when applications open for the 2026 cohort? Click below!
Meet a mentee from the current cohort and learn about their farm and why they joined the Business Mentorship Network. Want more? Head over to our BMN Blog for more mentorship stories.
Meet a Mentee: Rogue Acres
My name is Sarah Foley (she/her), and my farm is Rogue Acres. My mentor is Arlie LaRoche (she/her) of Farm One Forty.
I farm on Treaty 4 territory near Quill Lake, Saskatchewan. Treaty 4 encompasses the lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
What inspired you to get into farming?
My family farmed grain and cattle on this land until I was 11, and I always loved the farm. I didn’t think I would farm as a career, but when I completed my degrees in Environmental Biology and Political Studies and post-graduation I did avian diversity research on cropland, my interest in agricultural practices was piqued. I realized that working for the family farm instead of pursuing a career in environment or policy research was an invaluable opportunity: one where I would satisfy my interests in sustainability, biodiversity, and policy and be challenged to continuously learn and improve. And I love working outside! My father and my uncle began farming again in 2018, and I started working for them in 2021.
How did you learn how to farm?
Painfully! Haha. My dad put me on the cultivator and the airseeder (without very good GPS or autosteer) and I had to look at my wobbly lines and misses all summer. For custom grazing cattle, I started by checking and moving cattle, and with mentorship from the neighbouring rancher I’ve learned many other cattle care and handling skills. In pastured pork and meat goats, it’s been a lot of research and figuring it out as I go along!
Tell us about the business structure of your farm
Rogue Acres operates as a corporation. I rent on the family’s land that we are succession planning for. For the “big farm,” M & P Foley Acres Ltd., there’s 800 acres of cropland and a section (640 acres) of pasture. For my “little farm,” Rogue Acres, I’ve raised pigs on half an acre. I’ll increase the land in small-scale livestock production this year with more feeder weanlings and meat goats. For financing, I’ve relied on my credit card and line of credit over the past two years, but this year (with the support of the business mentorship network), I am working on getting a small business loan as I expand the operation.
What types of ecological farm practices and/or responses to climate change realities do you engage in?
We are increasing our resilience to climate risks by integrating livestock on the grain farm. Adding livestock is also an ecological approach to land management: grazers manage weeds and add fertilizer to the soil, and keeping livestock facilitates the removal of marginal areas from crop production for grazing or hayland, which promotes wetland retention and promotes biodiversity by increasing habitat.
Why did you apply for business mentorship? What are your primary business goals for the season?
I applied for the business mentorship program because I knew I had the skills and resources to farm, but I didn’t have the skills and resources to be a good businessperson. My primary business goals have been to incorporate, increase my production while knowing my profit margins, pricing, and cashflow projections, and to acquire a business loan to facilitate expansion. Alongside these, I’m expanding my reach by developing my business social media and website instead of using my personal social accounts.
What is the greatest challenge you face as a new farmer?
My greatest challenge is labour limitations! There’s more to do than there are people to do it, and this makes it so that I have to be careful to make time to pursue high-level business goals alongside the day-to-day and my off-farm employment.
What are some resources and tools that have been helpful for you in your farming journey?
The “Storey’s Guide to…” series has been very helpful! I also rely on the knowledge of family and experienced friends and neighbours. Also, Google Drive! It is so useful to organize and share the business resources from this program and beyond, and to have a collaborative online space for my working documents.
How can we find out more about you, your farm, and its products?
I’m in the process of developing my website, but it will soon be live at rogueacres.ca. You can subscribe to my mailing list there. My business Instagram is just getting started @rogueacres, and you can follow my personal account @saaaaaruuuh.
