If you are interested in covering ASAAP please contact Becky Lipton to be put in touch with ASAAP’s apprentices.

phone: 780-271-1116
fax: 780-434-1616
email: becky.lipton@mail.mcgill.ca

Press Release - August 20, 2009

New generations of young adults trade city life for a more rural lifestyle and farming experience

Edmonton, Alberta, August 20, 2009.  For some people, the closest they come to a farming experience is barbequing steak or making a fresh salad.  Thanks to a new program in Alberta, young adults are making the leap from just eating steak and salad tossing to implementing rotational cattle grazing systems and harvesting vegetables from fields and greenhouses.

The Alberta Sustainable Agriculture Apprenticeship Program (ASAAP) makes this connection possible by pairing potential farmers with local farms in the Edmonton and Peace regions.  Each member farm offers a different learning experience, work environment and time commitment. Most apprenticeships run from spring to fall, although several farms are currently looking for apprentices to start this fall. A list of all the farms can be found at www.startfarming.ca.

One thing each participating farm has in common is a desire to share their rural lifestyle and agricultural knowledge with people who want to become farmers, but do not necessarily come from a farming background. Peter Lundgard, owner of Nature’s Way Farm in Grimshaw near Peace River believes that “we have to support sustainable agriculture and teach the new generation of farmers”. Peter has two apprentices on his farm learning all aspects of his operation.

On the farm, every apprentice learns quickly.  Collecting organic eggs, delivering calves in spring, maintaining a herd of bison, beekeeping, harvesting vine ripe tomatoes, edible flowers and digging carrots, and selling at farmers’ markets are just a few of the activities apprentices can participate in.  One of the most rewarding experiences for apprentices is sitting down to a family meal on the farm, reflecting on the day and eating a well deserved meal they helped grow, raise and harvest.  Food doesn’t get more local than this.

“I have been wanting to learn more about how food is produced in Alberta so that I can grow more of my own food and potentially provide for others in my community.  There aren’t enough people producing food locally and we are going to need all the farmers we can get in the future” offers Michael Hunter, an apprentice at Inspired Market Gardens near Stony Plain since April. “I’m getting hand’s on experience in every practical aspect of running a market garden, from seeding to sales at the farmer’s market and everything in between. I get lots of one-on-one discussions with an experienced owner and a horticulturalist. Basically, I get to see what I’d be getting into.”

In addition to learning on their host farms, the apprentices also attend farm tours and workshops provided by other farmers in the program. “Meeting experienced farmers and getting connected with other apprentices is a big part of what this program is about” says Becky Lipton, ASAAP Coordinator. “These networks are really important when it comes to successfully transitioning from learning to farm start up”.