Andrew McClelland
The Advocate

Agricultural production has never been for the faint of heart. And maybe it’s never been easy being a young farmer in Canada.

But today’s young producers face challenges that previous generations never had, from the pressures of keeping up with technological change, to the fears of climate change and extreme weather.

No one in Quebec knows that more than the Fédération de la relève agricole. Established in 1982, the FRAQ is the voice of the next generation of Quebec farmers, fighting for the improvement of working conditions for the 8,000 professional and aspiring farmers in the province between the ages of 16 and 29.

“Our membership isn’t limited to people actively working in agriculture, because we recognize that it can be so hard to break into the industry,” said Meghan Jarry, a former dairy producer from Abitibi-Témiscamingue who works as an administrator for the federation.

“Especially with land prices being so high right now, and start-up capital being hard to acquire, we welcome anyone between 16 and 29 who wants to get into agriculture.”

First-hand experience

Jarry knows how hard it can be to get started in farming first-hand. Raised in the Montreal suburb of Boucherville, she bravely enrolled in farm management at Université Laval. Several years later, she married a dairy producer and moved to the little town of Palmarolle, 65 kilometres north of Rouyn-Noranda.

“I was able to see, very up close and personal, how succession planning can be difficult and emotional,” she said, relating her husband’s struggles in navigating his own farm transfer. “And now, I’m still very much committed to seeing that it goes well because that farm will maybe one day be our son’s farm.”

Succession planning is just one of the challenges that FRAQ addresses as it advocates for young farmers within the Union des producteurs agricoles and at the provincial level. And its recommendations on the topic are concrete, well-researched and sometimes radical, as Jarry explained in a June 12 videoconference with the Quebec Farmers’ Association.

Relève advocates for farm splitting

For instance, FRAQ recommends Quebec allow for the splitting or dividing of farmland so that succession can be made easier, a change that would overturn the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec’s long-held ban on splitting farmland.

But, says FRAQ, “splitting farmland can be beneficial for certain agricultural projects, particularly those involving the next generation. By encouraging the diversity of models, it can be a beneficial element in starting new businesses.”

The FRAQ also has solid proposals for changing the way farm financing works in the province.

“We want to help young producers by abolishing the ‘part-time’ category in La Financière agricole’s programs,” Jarry said, echoing a long-held grievance of many producers who are trying to establish themselves. “So many more producers could be helped if all farm start-ups could qualify for the full-time subsidy.”

No shame in being a part-timer

In fact, the distinction between part-time producers and full-time producers is one that the FRAQ is challenging in its advocacy work. For generations now, many producers in central and Atlantic Canada have found it necessary to find off-farm work to maintain a stable income. And that shouldn’t be a point of shame among farmers young or old.

“There’s this perception that, if you are a part-time farmer, you are not a ‘real’ farmer,” Jarry said. “And changing the perception of the industry from within, and changing how the public perceives it, is part of what FRAQ does.”

For Jarry, creating an atmosphere of hope for young farmers in the agriculture industry is a constant battle, waged on a personal level. When asked if the dominant mood among young producers is one of optimism, she reflects pensively and responds:

“Well, when I got into dairy, I was so eager,” she said. “And my friends said to me: ‘Just wait till you’ve been farming five years!’ I do find that I’m more jaded now than I was at the beginning. But we have to support one another and power through. And the community at FRAQ is one that powers through and endures.”