They will represent the province at the national event later in the year
Chicken and beef farmers from Ladysmith, B.C., are the Outstanding Young Farmers for the BC/Yukon region in 2025.
Thomas and Catherine Cuthbert, owners of South Coast Agro Farms received the honour during the regional event on Feb. 18 and 19.
“We were nominated by friends, which was really nice,” Thomas told Farms.com. “But then in the back of your mind you’re worrying about if you’re good enough. It was nice to win and receive a little bit of validation for what we’re doing.”
Thomas started raising poultry at age 19 in 2007 as part of the BC Chicken Marketing Board’s New Entrant Grower Program, which supports people entering the industry as new producers.
He started with around 3,600 birds and now has a flock somewhere around 40,000.
Thomas and Catherine Cuthbert with their four children.
He married Catherine in 2017, and in 2018 they began self-marketing their birds on a small scale.
“We had roasting chickens and were growing them a little bigger than we do in the barn,” he said.
What the Cuthberts discovered is there’s an unfilled market they’re tapping into.
“Our birds are between five and seven pounds, and sometimes up to 10 pounds,” Thomas said. “You can’t really get those anywhere else and it’s a unique market we’re trying to fill.”
The birds have an average feed conversion rate of around 1.39 kilos of feed per kilogram of live weight.
The farm produces chickens for Island Farmhouse Poultry, a local processor that supplies chicken to grocery stores, restaurants and local markets.
In 2022, the couple added a beef herd to their farm.
It started with five animals and has grown to a herd of 18 since.
They offer 100 per cent grass-fed beef.
“There’s lots of people doing it, but in our area there’s a market there to be filled,” Thomas said.
In addition, Thomas is involved with his family’s dairy operation, Silvermaple Holsteins.
With this regional win, the Cuthberts represent B.C. at the national event in Toronto in November.
B.C. farmers last won the national prize in 2023.
Brad and Travis Hopcott shared the award with Greg and Sarah Stamp from Alberta.
Thomas isn’t feeling the pressure yet, he says.
“We’ve got all summer for that to sink in.”
Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers will be named in March.