Agriculture
Cultivating success: mentorship program nurtures new generation of farmers
6 minute read Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024Since 2015, the Young Agrarians Business Mentorship Network (BMN) has been a cornerstone in supporting new and young farmers. The program helps them develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to manage their farm businesses by pairing them with experienced farm owners in their sector.
BMN began in British Columbia 11 years ago.
“The original idea started when we were seeing new farmers with a passion for the production and lifestyle. They were excited about contributing to the food security in their communities, but there was a gap in their business knowledge, particularly in British Columbia, where there wasn’t the same family farm generational model, and there were a lot of new people coming into farming,” says Melanie Buffel, Business Mentorship Network Manager for the Young Agrarians Foundation.
BMN expanded in 2022 to include Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. To date, the program has worked with 163 farmers on 118 farms, pairing them with 75 mentors. During their mentorship year, mentees reported impressive results: an average increase in revenues of 87 percent, a 65 percent increase in the volume of food produced, and a 42 percent increase in land production.
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