The Wheat Growers Association is looking for young farmers who want to know more about agricultural policy objectives.
“This is a great opportunity for young farmers to learn the effects different policies like transportation, trade, and environment have on their farm,” said Kaitlyn Kitzan, the Calgary-based association’s treasurer and director for Saskatchewan.
Why it matters: A group for Western Canada’s wheat producers wants to get young people interested in paving the way for the sector.
Kitzan, 24, is a young farmer herself. She comes from a grain and cattle operation near Yorkton. When she was finishing university, a wheat growers director asked if she’d like to join the board.
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“I had no clue who the wheat growers were or what they did,” she said. “But I went to my first board meeting and decided that yes, I wanted to join the board.”
In the two years since, Kitzan said it has offered her a multitude of opportunities and experiences.
“I have made so many connections, and I’ve learned so much about agricultural policy and how it impacts my farm,” she said.
To some extent, the mentorship program now in its first year was Kitzan’s brainchild. A year into her tenure as a board member, discussion at one meeting turned to board recruitment.
“I said, ‘How do we get more of me involved? How do we get more young people interested in agricultural policy and interested in joining our board?’ So, we came up with this mentorship program idea.”
Over the past year, the association developed a plan and obtained Canadian Pacific Kansas City as a title sponsor.
The program now seeks applications from young farmers across Western Canada. In November, the board will select two applicants who will get a taste of the board experience.
“We didn’t want to make it too intensive,” said Kitzan. “We didn’t want farmers to feel like it was too much to do while they were also farming.”
It will start with a meet and greet, where chosen applicants will meet with the current board and learn who they’ll interact with over the next year. At the end of November, they will go to the GrowCanada Conference with the wheat growers delegation, and in either late January or early February, they will attend the association’s convention. The two applicants will also attend board meetings as non-voting members.
“They’ll also get to experience some federal and provincial lobby days and learn what lobbying looks like as a farmer,” said Kitzan. “The hope is that at the end of August next year, they either want to stay involved in agricultural policy somehow or that they might consider joining our board at the end of the mentorship program.”
Even if they don’t join the board, Kizan says participants will walk away with valuable knowledge.
“They will gain an understanding of the different regulations and policies around plant breeding, how the PMRA decides what chemicals are approved or not approved,” she said.
It will also put real-world events into the farm context. Kitzan cited the recent Port of Vancouver strike as an example.
“When we’re hearing about the port strike, many might say that’s in Vancouver. Why does that matter to us? Well, it does matter to you if your grain stops moving.
“The whole idea is, you know, giving them experience and understanding all these complex issues and why they matter to them as farmers.”
Kitzan said her own experience has been incredible and she would like more of her peers to share similar experiences.
“It’s crazy the amount of times that I’ve been able to go to Ottawa or the number of times that I’ve been in the legislature here in Manitoba and in Saskatchewan. I want to make sure other people get this experience and these opportunities.”
The program is open to farmers under the age of 35 from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba or the Peace River district of British Columbia.
Applications will be open until Nov. 1 and the successful candidates will be announced Nov. 15.
Full details are available online.
