JUNE 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Training preps advisors
for growing demand More than a quarter of BC farms have Environmental Farm Plans
by MARGARET EVANS & PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – More than
a quarter of operations, or approximately 5,000 farms in BC, have participated in the province’s highly successful Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) program. Yet with just 15 advisors under contract and several stepping down in the next two years, there’s an acute need for new planning personnel. A succession planning process initiated last year by the BC Ministry of Agriculture and BC Agricultural Research & Development Corp. (ARDCorp), which administers the program, identified a need for new advisors who could expand the reach of the program across the province. “Our organization had
hired a consultant to do a succession plan. As a result, there was a clear indication of where the gaps were,” says Geoff Hughes-Games, acting program manager with ARDCorp. “We wanted to get some new advisors and fill in gaps across the province as well as replace those who wanted to step down.” Right now, all but five advisors are located in southern BC. The Lower Mainland has five, while Vancouver Island and the Peace regions each have just one.
While many of the existing advisors are professional agrologists, the designation isn’t necessary. A call for expressions of interest from those wishing to become advisors welcomed candidates with broad knowledge of agriculture, ecology and a working knowledge of farming. The invitation attracted applications from 37 people, a pool that was whittled down to 12 people who attended a week-long training session in Abbotsford earlier this year. The training covered all aspects of agricultural bylaws and regulations in the province. “The workbook has 300 questions but not every question is applicable to every farm,” says Hughes- Games. “We teach the students how to answer those questions. The farmer [will then] work through the questions applicable to their [own] operation.”
Fresh eyes
An environmental farm plan helps producers identify their environmental strengths and know what their potential risks are, then develop a strategy to minimize those risks.
The work appealed to
Melanie Boros, a recent graduate of the University of Alberta who now lives in Port Alberni where her family operates Coleman Meadows water buffalo dairy. While she majored in animal science and is glad to be part of primary agriculture through her family’s farm, she sees opportunities to assist other farmers, too.
Much of the course work in her final year of studies focused on the practical application of her training in real-life farming situations. Similarly, participation in the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge was a chance to compete on the basis of recommendations for farm improvement. “Working with producers and just seeing what a fresh set of eyes can do for them was very rewarding,” says Boros. “It was very cool to find out how people do things
differently and what works for them and what challenges they’re facing and what we can do to help with that.” Boros is among the
younger candidates trained to serve as environmental farm plan advisors, but industry veterans such as Lee Hesketh, operator of Silver Hills Ranch near Lumby, also stepped up. “I’ve promoted the
Environmental Farm Plan since its inception, with my family’s ranch being early participants,” he says. “The program allowed us to know we were moving in the right direction and helped us make improvements. Taking the next step now in becoming an EFP advisor, I hope to help other individuals in our agriculture
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EFP planning advisor hopeful Melanie Boros with Jake. COLEMAN MEADOWS PHOTO
communities to adopt best management practices while growing high quality food.” Successful completion of the training doesn’t guarantee applicants a contract as EFP farm advisors. Many are still undergoing mentoring, pending a final evaluation, undertaken in collaboration
with the BC Ministry of Agriculture. “The goal of training the new [advisors] was to have a suite of persons we could call on to work for the program,” says Hughes-Games. “At the end of the day, we have not yet made a decision on how many [advisors] will be contracted from the 12 that were trained.” Demand for their services is
strong, however. BC farmers have seen the close
connection between sustainable farming, marketing and consumer loyalty. The latest round of funding was over-subscribed, with 316 applicants vying for $1.3 million worth of funding. “We have about 5,000 (plus or minus) farms with EFPs and some are renewals,” says Hughes-Games. “Last year, about 240 new farm plans were done and 105 renewals. There is definitely interest in the plans.”
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