By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
The Young Agrarians Society is now accepting applications for its Business Mentorship Network Program until November 15th, two weeks past the original deadline of October 31st. The program – which runs in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba – pairs young farmers with experienced mentors for up to 30 hours of one-on-one guidance on how to navigate the business aspects of running a farm.
In an interview with The Goat, Program Manager Melanie Buffel said the program is geared towards mentee farmers with one to five years of experience who are ideally between the ages of 18 to 35. However, the program also accepts older applicants who are embarking on a second career, she said.
“We all come to farming with great passion for the work itself,” Buffel said. “But while production is a big piece of farming, so is business. Farmers are entrepreneurs, and are running businesses, but that may not be their skill or the driving force that got them into farming.”
To better prepare young farmers for the business side of farming, the program matches them with experienced mentors who can help with anything from registering a business, to financial recordkeeping, to expanding what kinds of products their farm sells, according to Buffel.
The ideal mentee will have specific goals they want to accomplish, and the ideal mentor is encouraging, experienced, and willing to lend a friendly ear, she said.
“I’m looking for a mentee who has a very clear goal: what do you want to accomplish on your farm? What are you motivated to do? That brings a lot of energy into the process,” Buffel said. “And then the mentor is able to say, ‘Hey, I want to support that,’ and they can dig in and they have that farm perspective – it’s not just business skills out of a textbook.”
As a farmer herself, Buffel understands the importance of having a program that addresses the specific needs of farmers, rather than generic information about running a business. Not only does the program include time with a dedicated mentor, it also has a weekly webinar on business management. While only 10 applicants from each province are selected to be paired with mentors, anyone who applies can take the webinar, according to Buffel.
“There’s eight webinars, and question-and-answer sessions with the farmers,” Buffel said. “All those webinars are offered by farmers. For example, we might be talking about cash flow, but we’re talking about it from the perspective of a farmer, so it becomes an extremely practical conversation. Even our tax accountant is a farmer.”
Buffel hopes the program will give new farmers a solid foundation in business management, and it has had success in the past: mentees have reported an average revenue increase of 87 per cent, according to the Young Agrarians Society. Buffel recalls one success story from northern B.C.: a new producer on a cattle farm saw an opportunity to grow berries on the farm as well, and was paired with a mentor who helped her do just that, according to Buffel.
“The really amazing part of the program is that it’s run by farmers, for farmers,” said Buffel.
Those who are interested in applying to be a mentee can visit youngagrarians.org if they have questions about the program, or email [email protected], Buffel said. Mentors can apply year-round, and mentoring is a paid position, she added.
