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 This pattern has served us well for the past 150 years or so, but is it an out of date way of thinking or does this approach still have merit?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: 1239

▶ 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

Canada adopts ePhytos for grain shipments to Mexico

Electronic certificates eliminate longer delivery times

Kent County Agricultural Hall of Fame: Five area growers named to farm shrine

Five more people have been inducted to the Kent County Agricultural Hall of Fame for their longstanding involvement and contributions. John Jaques, a Thamesville-area asparagus farmer for more than 40 years, North Buxton farmers Bryan and Shannon Prince and the late Bill and Jean Sloan, Christmas tree farmers from the Bothwell area, were inducted at a ceremony at Hidden Hills Golf and Country Club Tuesday. Biographies of the newest inductees were read during the ceremony. Jaques, 74, was recognized for his substantial contributions to agriculture as an industry leader in technological and policy advancements. His accomplishments include implementing proven marketing strategies and creating disaster coverage programs and sustainability initiatives. Jaques is credited for his tireless support of Ontario’s asparagus industry hard work to develop horticulture support programs across Canada. “He was a driving force behind the SDRM (self-directed risk management) program . . . to provid

‘Two, three, four million dollars’ to inherit a farm: advocate

An advocate is calling for additional exemptions that would allow farmers to pass on their land to other family members without getting hit by what could be millions of dollars in taxes. Derryn Shrosbree, a farmer and advocate with 33seven, told CTV Your Morning on Monday that there’s an exemption for children but nieces and nephews should also be exempt, which “would be great for farming and to keep rural communities vibrant.” “There’s a lot of cases where nieces and nephews have been actively working on the farm for 10 or 15 years already, but then they can’t actually inherit the farm without massive amounts of capital gains tax,” he said. More than 40 per cent of farmers will retire by 2033, according to a 2023 report from RBC. Two thirds of those producers do not have a plan to transfer those holdings, “leaving the future of farmland in doubt,” according to the bank. The Income Tax Act grants farmers the option to transfer the property to a “child” on a tax-deferred basis but

Joe Hudson joins Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame

Joe Hudson, who turned Lyn-based Burnbrae Farms into a national egg-producing powerhouse, has been posthumously inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. Hudson, who died last year at the age of 94, was one of six people formally inducted at a special ceremony in Victoria, BC on Nov. 8. Officials at the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Association described Hudson as “the architect of one of Canada’s most successful agri-food businesses, transforming Canada’s egg sector with his vision for a vertically integrated model. “From humble beginnings and a few chickens, the late Joe built Burnbrae Farms into a leading pillar of Canadian agribusiness and a household name that continues to thrive with the subsequent generations, thanks to the legacy he established,” they added. Hudson was nominated by Egg Farmers of Canada. The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Association honours and celebrates Canadians for outstanding contributions to the agriculture and food industry. Po

Workwear gap leaves women in agricultural jobs underserved and unsafe

Dairy farmer Nicole Tobes was frustrated with the lack of workwear options for women in agriculture. Women's coveralls were either far pricier than what was available for men, or of an inferior quality and missing a lot of important features, like pockets, that made her workday easier. After trying, and being disappointed by, too many options, Toebes would usually just go back to wearing men's coveralls, which were ill-fitting and uncomfortable to work in. “Even if you have to pay more [for a woman's garment], I'm willing to do it to have something that makes my day easier, better, [to] get the job done,” Toebes said during a Nov. 20 online discussion hosted by the National Women in Agriculture and Agri-food Network. “I couldn't find it. So I thought, ‘Well, how hard can it be?’ And here we are, five years later.” Toebes, who's based in Prince Edward Island, is the founder and owner of AgPro Workwear, which designs and manufactures coveralls for women working in agriculture. Feat

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service