Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Do you want your kids to farm?

Gredig: From the Fencerow
Bookmark and Share
Do you want your kids to farm?

As a farmer and father with a young son, it’s a question that has started to creep into the back of my mind. The old saying is, “farmers farm for their sons and daughters”. The inference is that for a family farm to succeed, each generation builds onto what came before and passes it on in better shape. This pattern has served us well for the past 150 years or so, but is it an out of date way of thinking or does this approach still have merit?

I never felt any pressure to come home to the farm. I was encouraged to find summer jobs off the farm to get some exposure to other ways of making a living. I laid a few million yards of sod (well, it seemed like millions) for a landscaping company for a couple of summers, harvested tobacco, and worked at a golf course. After high school, I went to university chasing a degree in agricultural economics. At home, the message was, if you want to come home after university, the farm will be here.

When I took a job in the big city as a policy researcher after graduation, I could tell that my parents still held out hope that I would farm, but either way, they were moving forward and the farm was evolving.

After a couple of years of fun in the city the light bulb went on and I knew I wanted to give it a shot at home. It was an easy decision that took 24 years to become apparent. I guess I learned from my parents that it’s important to encourage the next generation to consider all the opportunities available to them, including agriculture. And this could mean primary production or a job related to agriculture.

By the time I came home, the hog operation had been shuttered and a progressive apple orchard was added as a new enterprise. If I had shown interest earlier, there is a good chance that there would have been more land and more pigs, but there would also have been more pressure to follow that model. Because my parents had moved forward with enterprises that were right for them, there was room for me to start my own direction when I started farming.

Now I am the farmer with a kid. Some days the boy thinks living on a farm is the best ever (go-carts rock!). Other days, he wonders why we can’t live in town where the kids play street hockey every day after school! I think I was the same way.

Some people say the economics of agriculture today make it very difficult for farmers to keep the farm viable and available for the next generation. I think this has always been true, but I agree that high asset values make it more difficult for some to forego cashing in, especially if there are numerous siblings that must be considered in succession planning.

I guess at this early stage I’ll do my best to be a positive influence and to keep as many options open as possible, both for myself and my son. I’m not as concerned about building a certain scale or kind of operation. My experience is that the next generation should be encouraged to consider new enterprises and new approaches.

What do you think? Do you want your kids to farm? What are the opportunities/challenges? 

Peter Gredig
Farms.com Media
Peter.Gredig@Farms.com

Follow me on Twitter. I’m Agwag.
 
 
 
This commentary is for informational purposes only.  The opinions and comments expressed herein represent the opinions of the author--they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Farms.com.  This commentary is not intended to provide individual advice to anyone.  Farms.com will not be liable for any errors or omissions in the information, or for any damages or losses in any way related to this commentary.

Views: 1238

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robert Hillman on December 13, 2011 at 11:43am

because of selfishness

the dad should have said NO

the dad should have been a man and done what he wanted



Roadrunner said:

I was talking to a friend the other day....the son wants to farm but the challenges of succession between the 3 generations of the family made it impossible....they needed to sell the land and operation to satisfy the siblings...still bitter feelings between everyone.
Permalink Reply by Robert Hillman on December 13, 2011 at 11:45am

we just want to farm one hundred acers

 

there is three of us to work full time

 

we will live in the country and work for  free for ten years  for a farmer that will help us get   our own hundred acers

i can make  25 thousand a year with a hundred acers and thats all we want

 

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Alberta Rural Municipalities Pushing For Raw Milk

The Rural Municipalities of Alberta have voted to push for changes to Canada’s raw milk laws. At this week’s convention, two-thirds of Alberta towns and counties backed a resolution from the MD of Greenview calling on Ottawa to allow on-farm sales of unpasteurized dairy under strict conditions. Supporters say modern safety practices—like closed milking systems, refrigeration, and microbial testing—can reduce health risks. They point to European models where raw milk is legal with producer registration, labelling, and traceability. Right now, raw milk sales are banned in Canada, driving an underground market. Advocates argue a regulated system would give consumers choice and help rural economies thrive. Alberta’s agriculture department opposes the move.

Water driven yield potential technology aims to improve ROI for producers

Water is one of the most important inputs in agriculture, and is often the most significant factor limiting crop yield, particularly in dryland farming. Working with EMILI at Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert during the 2025 season allowed Crop Intelligence to fine-tune its Dryland Farming Ultra Package to help producers better understand their water driven yield potential (WDYP). Dryland Farming Ultra is a hardware and software solution that allows farmers and agronomists to monitor the total available water for their crop, and use that information to make informed decisions on overall crop agronomy. Often, producers use soil tests and tissue tests and base agronomy decisions on these results. Crop Intelligence allows producers to take it one step further to measure how much can be grown based on the total amount of water available. “I think there are a lot of assumptions in any given year about how much can be grown, but without actually measuring it, it’s impossible to know whe

This is agriculture: Third-generation Manitoba grain farmer

Rick Rutherford is a third-generation farmer whose deep passion for agriculture has led to local and international partnerships focused on advancing innovation and supporting the next generation of farmers. Rutherford is the first producer EMILI partnered with when launching Innovation Farms powered by AgExpert in 2022. Locating the first Innovation Farms on Rutherford’s 5,500-acre seed farm in Grosse Isle, Manitoba has allowed EMILI to provide innovators with access to leading-edge equipment, technology, and production practices to increase productivity, sustainability, and profitability across the agriculture and agri-food sector. Rutherford Farms has hosted Harvest on the Crescent since 2021. Each year a different crop grows on Wellington Crescent while raising money for Harvest Manitoba. Over the past five years this initiative has raised thousands.  Describe your job in one sentence. I am a third-generation farmer operating a pedigreed seed and commercial grain farm located in

John Deere defending against misinformation again

A video circulating online indicates the manufacturer is leaving Canada

Border restrictions in place due to U.S. vesicular stomatitis outbreak

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced temporary import restrictions on horses, swine, and ruminants — including cattle — from certain U.S. states following an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis (VS). Importation of these animals from affected states is currently suspended until further notice. Canadian-origin animals that have been in a VS-affected state within the past 21 days will also be denied re-entry to Canada, except under very limited circumstances. To return to Canada, animals must have been moved to a non-affected state, remained there for at least 21 days, and be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as originating from areas free of clinical or epidemiological evidence of VS during that period. Producers and transporters are encouraged to avoid travel through VS-affected states whenever possible. If transit through these areas is unavoidable, shippers must complete a supplementary declaration upon arrival at a Canadian port of entry.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service