(file photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

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May 8, 2023 | 3:15 PM

Quebec farming organizations said the rising cost of land is making it harder than ever for young farmers to enter the business.

Benoit Cure is the co-ordinator of ARTERRE, a program that pairs aspiring farmers with landowners and farm operators who are planning to retire. He said the price of agricultural land rose by about 10 per cent last year.

Cure said agricultural land in Quebec now sells for more than a farmer can hope to make from that land over their career.

Myriam Landry, who has been raising goats for their meat in Saint-Esprit, Quebec, since 2018, said she was able to get her start by opening a small operation in a rented barn.

But she added it’s difficult to get financing for small operations, particularly ones with less common products, like goat meat.

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Quebec’s farmers association said around 10 per cent of farmers in the province are thinking about closing their farms this year because of rising costs.

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The federal government is expanding a project it launched during the pandemic to offer temporary workers in the agriculture and food sector a pathway to permanent residency.

Family members of workers who make it into the program will be given open work permits so they can earn a living while they’re in Canada.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the project will keep operating until 2025.

He said the agricultural sector is struggling with labour shortages that could hurt Canada’s food security if they aren’t addressed.

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Ukrainian grain farmers in areas now free from Russian occupation are wondering if they should risk their lives to clear explosives before the critical spring planting season.

They are also dealing with soaring production and transportation costs caused by Russia’s blockade of many Black Sea ports.

Experts predict losses, a reduction in output and potentially thousands of bankruptcies.

The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Ukraine said a drastic cutback in grain crops could threaten global food security.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW