The next generation of farmer will mostly come from strong and vibrant family farms, according to a recent Farm Credit Canada (FCC) survey.
"Family farms are not going to disappear in Canada. In fact, the vast majority of family farms are either growing or sustaining their business and becoming more modern and efficient operations," said Sophie Perreault, FCC's chief operating officer.
The Vision Panel survey, conducted in early August 2014, showed more than a quarter (29%) of producers considered their operations to be in the growth stage of the business life cycle, while four in 10 (40%) producers categorized their operation as "sustaining."
The majority of producers said they have also expanded the physical size of their operation (73%) as well as the scale of production (80%) since their entry into agriculture production as a livelihood. In the next three years, half of producers plan to expand the physical size of their operation, while 58% plan to expand their operation's scale of production.
Interestingly, producers who have been running their operation for less than 10 years are the most likely to have future expansion plans for their operation's physical size (65%), scale of production (77%) or number of employees (33%), according to the survey.
FCC's Vision Panel survey showed 62 per cent of agriculture producers have at least one adult child who aspires to manage the family farm; of these producers, 43 per cent have at least one adult child already involved in the operation, while 19 per cent have at least one adult child who is interested in becoming involved.
"Whether or not they were raised on a farm, more and more young people are becoming involved in various aspects of agriculture - not only in the area of primary production, but also in the agri-food and agribusiness sectors," Perreault said. "FCC pays special attention to the next generation of producers because we know the success of the industry is tied to their success."
When producers with at least one adult child were asked for a word that best describes the process of transitioning the farm to their children, almost a quarter of those surveyed used the word "complex".
"FCC's Transition Loan and Young Farmer Loan Program are designed to support the transfer of farm operations from one generation to the next," Perreault said. "By sharing our agriculture knowledge and original research, we're providing solid insight and expertise to help our customers achieve their goals," she said.
The survey captured the opinions of 1,139 Vision Panelists, representing the agriculture industry.
