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Meet the young leaders who are the future of our industry


Wayne Johnson, Armstrong, British Columbia

On joining the egg farming industry with the support of egg farmers in his community:

“I was very intentional about getting to know different layer farmers, their experiences, their size, their type of operation and touring their barns to see what I would need to do for our operation.”

Kate Van Deynze-Fleming, Holland, Manitoba

On working on the farm alongside her kids:

“It gets easier as they get older, and now they are taking on more responsibility. I really want my kids to have the same opportunities as I did, so that’s why we are doing this, building this business.”

On converting their barn from dairy to egg production:

“When we went to meetings and told people we wanted to be up and running in five months, some people laughed. They didn’t believe we could do it, but my dad had a plan, and we made it happen.”

Megan Veldman, St. Marys, Ontario

On how her family works together:

“We each run our part of the farm separately, but we always sit down and talk before making any big decisions. My dad says he didn’t build the farm just for his sons to take over.”

Daniel Schuring, Barrhead, Alberta

On what he hopes to gain from taking part in the national young farmer program:

“I’m still pretty new to it all and I’d like to learn more about supply management and about how the industry works behind the scenes.”

Ian Laver, Castleton, Ontario

On the best part of being a farmer:

“Being my own boss, and setting my own schedule.”

 On what makes the national young farmer program unique:

“Learn[ing] the ins and outs of the business.”

Trevor Pickard, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

On joining this year’s young farmer program:

“Being a young farmer getting into the business, I’d just like to learn more about it and it’s [the young farmer program] the best way for me to do that.”

On learning the ropes of farming from his extended family:

“In that first year, they opened up their barns, showed me what I should be doing, the mistakes they made and what I could improve on.”

Charles-Éric Bouchard, Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, Quebec

On how he learned the discipline of farming as a kid:

“By working full-time in the fields in the summer.”

On being part of an expanding and growing farm operation:

“My vision of production has changed a lot and enabled me to create a job I love… Being fresh out of school, I like having the freedom to experiment, compare, analyze and push the boundaries of what has been done before. For now, I want to put the best of myself into egg production and maximize the farms’ efficiency.”