JANUARY 2020 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Young farmers are making global waves


BCYF members encouraged at Farm Fest


by DAVID SCHMIDT CHILLIWACK – BC Young


Farmers had a very successful year, president Leo Quik told members at the annual BCYF Farm Fest in Chilliwack in mid- November. An offshoot of the BC


Agriculture Council, BCYF hosted two tours in the Fraser Valley, one in the Okanagan and one in the Prince George area. They also sent two BCYF directors to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture meeting, two directors to Ag Day in Victoria and 10 delegates to the Canadian Young Farmers Forum. One of those delegates,


Sara Kate Smith of Barriere, not only attended CYFF but has taken her involvement in agriculture politics to a whole new level. Still just 20, Smith is chair of 4-H Canada’s Youth Advisory Committee and represented Canada at both the United Nations Committee on World Food Security conference and the UN Innovation Symposium for Family Farmers. Partly due to her lobbying, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization created a youth advisory committee to help guide policy-making.


Noting the UN has a goal


heard from MNP partner Eben Louw and motivational speaker Chris Koch. Louw gave them five rules


for getting “more really important things done in your farm business.” First, young farmers must get better at planning. Louw stressed this will take time and self-discipline but is necessary to obtain a clear sense of direction. Second, they need to learn


to live with ambiguity. “You need an


Sara Kate Smith of Barriere, chair of the 4-H Canada Youth Advisory Committee, addresses the BC Young Farmers Farm Fest in Chilliwack in November. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO


of reaching zero hunger by 2050, Smith said the big question is how the world is going to feed nine billion people in a sustainable manner. She believes young people need to “lead the conversation” as they are the ones who will ultimately have to meet that goal. “They are starting to listen


to young people and take us seriously,” Smith urging her audience of young farmers to share their stories, even if it’s only at the local level. “Sharing your story at the


local level seems small but has the greatest impact,” she


told them. Some BC young farmers will be able to share their stories on a larger stage as the BCYF will send two members to the CFA AGM in February and eight members to the CYFF in April. It also plans to send two members to the Canadian Horticulture Council AGM and two to the Advancing Women in Agriculture conference. BCYF will also enroll one member in Farm Management Canada’s 11-week CTEAM farm leadership program. Deadline to apply for any of these opportunities is January 10.


On a provincial level, BCAC


chair Stan Vander Waal praised BCYF’s involvement in Ag Day, calling it a critical lobbying effort on behalf of BC agriculture.


Both he and Quik singled out the waste management regulations as one of the challenges facing farmers of all ages. “We all hate waste management regulations but we do need to have some so we sit down with government to develop regulations we can live with,” Vander Waal said. Farm Fest attendees also


entrepreneurial spirit because business is messy. Perfection doesn’t exist,” Louw stressed. Third, young farmers need to understand the whole system, which has evolved from a hierarchical to a horizontal system. Fourth, they should invest in themselves early. “Stop measuring yourself


by social media. Instead, determine who you are planning to become,” he said. Finally, he stressed the need to build capacity for more conflict and “protect your team at all costs.” “People have weaknesses,”


he reminded his audience. Koch’s inspiring


presentation was titled “If I Can.” His simple message: If I can, anyone can.” He backed that up by referring to his life growing up as an active member of an Alberta ranching family before becoming a world traveler and adventurer – all accomplished after being born without arms or legs.


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