New mentorship opportunities for Canadian women in agriculture

By Vanessa Renaud, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Historically, agriculture in Canada has been a male-dominated industry, but women have always played very pivotal roles in farm businesses – just mostly behind the scenes or in a supportive rather than leading capacity.

This is now changing. Along with the general demographic shift in agriculture as older farmers are facing retirement and a new generation is taking over the management and ownership of farm businesses, there are also more women stepping into leadership roles in farms of all types and sizes.

I know first-hand that this is happening as I work with my father on our family farm near Green Valley in Eastern Ontario. As a Certified Crop Advisor, I also work as a crop input consultant with farmers in our area. But it’s not just based on my own experiences.

The latest Canadian census numbers show that women represent a greater proportion of our farmers than in the past. About 30 per cent of Canada’s farmers are women, and in 2021 we saw the first increase in the number of female farmers in Canada in 30 years.

According to Statistics Canada, this is due almost entirely to the fact that more women are now farming on their own. The numbers also illustrate that women are running larger farm businesses than in the past.