A Canadian farmer drives a seeding vehicle (CBC)

A countrywide campaign is underway to get more young people interested in agriculture to counter a rapid decline in the number of Canadian farmers over the past several years.

Statistics Canada figures indicate that between 1991 and 2006, Canada lost over 60 per cent of its farmers under the age of 35. In an attempt to start reversing the trend, the National Farmers Union will launch the Campaign for Young Farmers during its annual convention later this month in Ottawa.

Organizers said the campaign, which kicks off Nov. 28, provides training and support for young Canadian farmers and should increase awareness of the problem.

"This is an issue that has been left on the table far too long," said Kalissa Regier, vice-president of the National Farmers Union's youth organization. "Canada simply can't afford to lose any more of its farmers."

Regier, 30, who works on her family's 560-hectare farm near Laird, Sask., said many Canadians have "a disconnect" regarding where their food comes from. At her family's farm, they grow organic grains, lentils and legumes. Supporting the family farm, instead of huge industrial farms, should be the cornerstone of this campaign, she said.

"We have a society that's very comfortable in its ability to find and source whatever it needs to," she said. "We've already lost the battle with food system. What we're trying to do is rebuild."

Risky occupation

She wants to encourage young people to farm, but understands it's a tough sell. Regier meets farmers from around the world at agricultural conferences and hears similar complaints about this industry as the unpredictability of climates and markets makes it a risky occupation.

The campaign aims to address some of those concerns by providing farmer training and mentoring. But the NFU also wants to educate people about the government's agriculture policies and the economic barriers farmers face today.

Regier says that insight into the politics of farming should be passed down from generation to generation.

She knows getting more young people involved is an uphill battle, but remains optimistic. The current trend towards locally grown food, organic produce and farmers' markets over factory farming has boosted interest in local farms, she said.

She said she's glad for this, but for more family farms to survive, people need to see local food as an "invested interest" and not a fad.

"Good food produced by local farmers needs to be accessible to everyone."