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canadians organizing their own young farmers organization
Posted: September 26 2012
Great work, guys! Check 'em out: http://youngagrarians.org/
Here's a letter they sent out this summer:
Dear Agrarians,
We can't thank The Greenhorns enough for the inspiration to get going Canada-side. While we're B.C. focused for 2012 we aim to go national next year!
From the city to the country - we're here to connect up and network the powerful groundswell of young people who care about and practice ecological / organic / sustainable agriculture.
In the coming months we're focused on making visible the resources available to farmers and new potential farmers online.A few nuts' and bolts' @ definitions:
AGRARIAN is like the 'new agrarian' - it's more than one type of person. While we're all hung up on farmers- it's also someone who supports local and organic food, community, nature, and the farms and farmers who grow our food. It's going to take all of us to build a robust and ecologically sound food system - producers and consumers! Balcony to acreage, we want you to get involved! Farmers, farm lovers, foodies, naturephiles and more…
AGRARIAN is like the 'new agrarian' - it's more than one type of person. While we're all hung up on farmers- it's also someone who supports local and organic food, community, nature, and the farms and farmers who grow our food. It's going to take all of us to build a robust and ecologically sound food system - producers and consumers! Balcony to acreage, we want you to get involved! Farmers, farm lovers, foodies, naturephiles and more…
YOUNG for demographic purposes is technically 34 and under. This represents less than 5% of farmers in BC, with over 50% of BC farmers age 59 and up. But is really anyone who feels young, or is a 'new entrant into agriculture'. We need all of y'all, regardless of age!
In the beginning…
This year started up with a volunteer crew of farmers who care deeply about the state of our planet, a rocking crew of food/farm involved advisors, and some infinitely generous and wise funders.
We've been gathering people together to potluck every month, in collaboration with the fabulous Vancouver Urban Farming Society, and young farmers from throughout BC to build community over time.
We've been going to things, like the Certified Organic Association of BC's annual conference, the BC Food Systems Network Gathering and soon BC Seeds in November. We're putting our energy together for our first Young Agrarians mixer January 26-27, 2013. We'll be gathering somewhere between the city and the country to share food and connect our hearts and minds together…
And we've been consulting with folks working in the field from near and far, and figuring out how to grow to support young farmers.
Collaborators have been coming out of the woodwork, from farmers, to chefs, to bloggers, organizers, media and more!
Want to contribute? Blog and get your voice out? Are you going to an awesome farm event, farm workshop or farm (we're also into awesome garden and permaculture projects) and want to let the network know – contact us – and write / photo / video about it. Email: [email protected]
red hook, new york