Senior 4-H members from across the Maritimes will be gathering at a Charlottetown Hotel next month to discuss how they can play an effective role in the future growth of the agricultural industry.
The average age of Canadian farmers is getting older, and efforts are under way on a number of fronts to help attract the next generation to stay on the farm. With assistance from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council, which administers funding from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada CARD Program, the Prince Edward Island 4-H Council is planning an entrepreneurial conference February 21-23 at the Holiday Inn Express.
Co-ordinator Chris MacBeath said the object of the event is two-fold – to offer entrepreneurial and motivational techniques that will serve the 4-H members well, no matter what their career path, and to make them aware of the multitude of job opportunities in agriculture and agri-food.
"A similar event was held for intermediate members in 2001 in Nova Scotia, and it proved to be highly successful," MacBeath said. "We thought it would be something that would be helpful to senior members."
Those members fall into the 15-21 age bracket, so they are beginning to make career and academic choices. The conference is expected to attract 41 delegates from Prince Edward Island, along with eight delegates each from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
The main speaker for the event will be Summerside businessman, Bill Martin, who will relate the successes and pitfalls of business. Bill has a well deserved reputation across the province as a motivational speaker and will no doubt provide the young audience with food for thought.
Delegates will begin registering for the conference Friday night and there will be a social and networking time during the evening before getting down to business on Saturday. Well-known Island entrepreneur Bruce MacNaughton, who operates the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company in New Glasgow, will also speak.
On the agricultural side, Caroline St. Pierre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will give a presentation on the renewal program, which is available to young farmers entering the industry. As well, there will be tours of the Atlantic Veterinary College and the Prince Edward Island Food Technology Centre.
On Sunday, the event will close with an agricultural career fair. MacBeath said they plan to have close to a dozen careers in the industry represented, and delegates will circle the room in small groups to listen to brief job descriptions from the presenters, with an opportunity to ask any questions they may have.
"It is going to be a full three days, but we hope people will come away energized and consider being part of this industry in the future," MacBeath said.
This is one of a series of articles prepared by the Prince Edward Island Agricultural Awareness Committee to highlight new and innovative developments in the province's farming community.