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Production, Policy and Community Mixer for Market Gardeners

Event Information
Author alnationtalk
Start Date/Time 22nd Feb Sat AM 10:00 (GMT 0)
End Date/Time 22nd Feb Sat PM 4:00 (GMT 0)
Location Merville, BC
Type Public
Categories
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Production, Policy and Community Mixer for Market Gardeners

Date and time
Sat, Feb 22, 2025 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST

Location
Merville Hall
1245 Fenwick Road Merville, BC V0R 2M0 Canada

Refund Policy
Refunds up to 7 days before event
Eventbrite’s fee is nonrefundable.

About this event

  • Event lasts 6 hours

Calling all market gardeners! You’re invited to a Production, Policy and Community Mixer on Saturday, February 22 in Merville, BC. This event will be co-hosted by Young Agrarians and the National Farmers Union (NFU), a direct-membership, farmer-led organization that has advocated for food systems rooted in social and economic justice as well as agroecology and international agrarian solidarity since 1969.

Join us to hear stories from successful market gardeners, share resources, connect with other farmers and food lovers, share a delicious meal and build community around vegetable farming in BC. This event will also provide you with an opportunity to share your own stories about the barriers and opportunities you have encountered along your farming journey as part of a national conversation about what policies and programs are needed to support the next generation of farmers.

We will kick the morning off with an introduction circle and opening activities, then hear from Jaclyn Kirby of Yellow Boot Farm, a market gardener in Black Creek, BC. Jaclyn will share stories from her farm start-up, focusing on her experience obtaining education and training as well as mentorship in business planning and marketing, working with community resources and navigating water regulations. She will tell us about her adventures with dry farming and we will learn all about her tomato experiments.

After a coffee break, Natasha Anderson of Minwaadizi Farm will speak about her experiences farming in community from an Indigenous perspective, including her work on cultivating traditional food crops, farming on leased land and organizing for climate and land justice with other Indigenous farmers and land stewards.

In the second half of the day, former NFU president and current Comox Valley Farmers’ Institute member Jan Slomp will discuss the importance of farmers institutes as hubs of community building and farmer advocacy, as well as share reflections from life long-time as a farmer-activist.

Jan’s presentation will help situate us as we dive into the remainder of the afternoon: an interactive policy workshop that will provide participants with an opportunity to share their experiences navigating barriers to accessing land, capital, knowledge and training and wraparound support for farmers. During this session, we will be joined by experienced farmers and policy experts from around the province in a discussion about what policies and programs could help to alleviate the barriers currently faced by new entrant farmers.

The ideas generated during this session will be shared at The Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers National Policy Jam in March and contribute to developing a national strategy to support new entrant farmers. Incorporating the knowledge generated from this event, YA hopes to address the most pressing barriers faced by farmers in the network who are the future of our food systems. Working with the federal and provincial governments to focus on new entrants, YA aims to create more momentum for programs and services for new, young and underrepresented farmers, including advocating for Canada’s first National New Farmer Strategy that would include land access and targeted capital access. YA wants to hear what resources you have accessed to build your farming dreams, what barriers you encountered and what supports you need to do the work of growing food for our communities. We can’t wait to dive in!

In the evening, you are invited to join the NFU for an evening of networking and local brews and bites at a local brewery!

The following day, the NFU will be hosting a Region 8 Retreat at Merville Hall. The purpose of this retreat is to provide NFUers (including and especially the NFU-curious!) a space to integrate what we learn together on Saturday, build relationships and share knowledge. Everyone is encouraged to attend. This retreat will be a great opportunity to learn more about the NFU and its role in supporting progressive agricultural policy while deepening relationships and building organizing capacity in our farming communities. More information about the retreat will be coming soon!

DATE: Saturday, February 22, 2025 • 10am-4pm

LOCATION: K’ómoks Territory. Merville Hall. 1245 Fenwick Rd, Merville, B.C. V0R 2M0.

DIRECTIONS/PARKING: Merville Hall is located off the N Island Highway in Merville. Please do not bring pets to the event. Kids are welcome.

SCHEDULE (times are approximate):

10:00 – 10:30 Intro Circle and Welcome

10:30 – 12:45 Farmer Presentations (with 15 minute coffee break)

12:45 – 2:00 Lunch

2:00 – 4:00 Policy Intro and Workshop

CARPOOL INFO: If you are looking for or can offer a ride to or from the event, you can organize carpooling through the Facebook event.

ACCESSIBILITY: If you have any accessibility needs, please get in touch with us at kat@youngagrarians.org

CONFIDENTIALITY: Materials generated from these policy sessions and farmers consultations will include anonymous policy recommendations on provincial and federal levels. We will not identify anybody individually unless we have explicitly asked for your consent to include your story to illustrate a policy recommendation.

SHARE: Planning on joining us? Invite your friends and share the Facebook event.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

  • This event is free and open to everyone!
  • Children are welcome
  • Please do not bring pets
  • Please stay home if you have cold or flu symptoms
  • Please do not bring alcohol to this event

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

The NFU is an organization of, and for, farmers and farmworkers in Canada, working together to democratically achieve agricultural policies that ensure dignity and income security for farmers and farmworkers while protecting and enhancing rural environments for future generations.

The NFU advocates for a food system based on the principles of food sovereignty, which:

  • calls for a food system that values ​​farmers and what they grow
  • rebuilds relationships between food producers and those who eat
  • reclaims local decision making about food production and environmental protection and
  • strengthens connections between people and the land, empowering communities and citizens to make intentional decisions based on local needs and conditions to ensure a resilient and sustainable future.

The NFU collaborates locally, nationally and internationally to research, educate and share effective solutions that lead to a better world for farm families and their local communities.

DIVE DEEPER INTO YA’S POLICY WORK

YA has other exciting policy events coming up both online and in person!

B.C. Virtual Farmer Policy Circles: Join us online on February 6 and 11 to learn about YA’s programs and policy work, explore barriers and opportunities for new entrant farmer policy and participate in a collaborative discussion and feedback session.

Pastured Poultry Production and Policy Primer at Fresh Valley Farms (details coming soon): Join us at Fresh Valley Farms in Armstrong on March 1 for an educational session and policy discussion centred around pastured poultry in collaboration with the Small-Scale Meat Producers Association.

4-Part Webinar Series Breaking Barriers: Building Future Farmers: Participate in our online sessions featuring stories, strategies, resources, funding, and programs to help navigate persistent barriers, foster connection, and inform new approaches to better support new and young farmers across the country.

Nov 13: Land Access: Strategies and Stories (recording coming soon!)

Jan 15: Wrap Around Supports: A Farmer Listening Session (recording coming soon!)

Feb 12: Access to Capital

Mar 5: Knowledge & Mentorship

“Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers” National Policy Jam: On March 15 and 16, we will gather in eastern Ontario for a coast to coast convening of new and young farmers, farmer organizations, farm policy leaders and allies looking to learn, connect and mobilize around better supports for new and young farmers, including access to land, capital, knowledge, and wrap-around supports. The Policy Jam will be a fun and creative space to build connections, share knowledge, and grow solidarity across the new farmer ecosystem.

Stay in Touch

If you are interested in hosting an event at your farm and bringing together the farming community in your area, please reach out to bclmp@youngagrarians.org with your idea!

The Breaking Barriers: Growing Future Farmers National Policy Jam and associated work is supported by the Government of Canada through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriDiversity Program, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/production-policy-and-community-mixer-for-market-gardeners-tickets-1206374010139?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

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