Farming isn’t an easy job in Manitoba — especially with challenging weather in recent years — but the province’s producers top the rest of the country in one interesting category.
According to a report by Statistics Canada this summer, Manitoba is home to the highest proportion of farmers 35 years of age and under nationwide.
One of those farmers, St. Malo’s Byron Falk, says he wants to encourage his fellow young people to get involved in the industry.
Falk told Global News he didn’t grow up on a farm. It’s a venture he started on his own, but it’s been a very rewarding career choice despite the hard work.
“When that new calf is born in spring, and you see it running around — or you get that seed in the ground and a week later it’s sprouted … there are these realities that all take time and money and investment and hard work, but … man, when it’s start working and you see the result …
“I think that’s the part that keeps me in it, as well as just being outdoors all the time.”
Falk said this spring has been nothing short of a challenge, and that he’s only getting to some seeding this week, but is still optimistic about his decision to take the plunge into farming despite the long days and late nights.
According to data from Statistics Canada’s 2021 agricultural census, Manitoba, which has the third-largest farm area in the country, has more than 11 per cent of its agricultural operators identifying as 35 or younger.
That’s notably higher than the overall Canadian percentage of 8.6.
Manitoba is also being boosted by an increase in female farmers, the report said. The proportion of female operators in the province saw an increase from 23.8 to 26.5 per cent, representing a total of 5,150 farmers.