Nuffield Canada, a registered charity, celebrated its 75th anniversary in June with an alumni tour to the far north during Summer Solstice.
“Nuffield Scholars travel the world exploring agriculture, however very few have been to the far north of our own country – so what better place than the Yukon on the summer solstice to celebrate? It was fantastic,” says Steve Larocque, Nuffield Canada Chair and 2008 Nuffield Scholar.
Nuffield Canada offers life-changing scholarships to mid-career farmers, ranchers and others in agribusiness so they may expand their knowledge and understanding of an agricultural study topic of their choosing by researching and exploring in other parts of the world. They then bring home their knowledge, innovative ideas, and networks, and put them into practice in Canada while sharing what they have learned with others in the sector.
“There is really nothing quite like it,” says Larocque of Nuffield. “Nuffield is the world’s largest peer-to-peer farmer and agribusiness network with over 2,200 alumni globally in 16 countries. It offers a dynamic platform for selected scholars to research, explore and collaborate on ideas, innovations, policies, and practices that drive advancements in Canada agriculture. The experience of extensive travel, research and investigation has directly translated into new business activity, innovation and economic growth here at home. This is our competitive edge. Nuffield Canada brings knowledge home so all of Canadian agriculture may prosper.”
Celebration day-trip tours were concentrated around Whitehorse, Yukon, and included egg, grain, livestock, and agri-food processing operations, along with a brewery, agri-tourism and research facilities.
Many of the agricultural challenges in the far north are similar to those in the south – labour shortages, supply chain issues, transportation. But other challenges are ‘next level’ such as dealing with grizzly bears, the short growing season, and the need for 8-foot elk fences all around the perimeter of your property.
Elk herds cause significant damage to farms in the Yukon through grazing and trampling crops, digging up pastures, braking fences, and potentially spreading diseases. Crop protection from elk is essential due to the high cost of livestock feed, for example, 50 lb. small square bales of hay sell for $28 each. A feed expense like that is only used to over-winter the highest valued outfitter horses. Secondary horses are often shipped south to Edmonton for the winter.
Water management is another big challenge. We southerners tend to think of the snowy far north as having an abundance of precipitation, but the opposite is true. With an average annual snowfall of just 145 cm and rainfall of 163 mm, Whitehorse is one of Canada’s driest cities. This means producers must irrigate crops and pastures to maintain viable productivity.
But with challenges come opportunities. Much like modern day pioneers, you can still acquire public lands for agriculture in the Yukon through a competitive agricultural development plan and purchase. Everybody needs everything up there – so all skills and production have a ready market. From vets to abattoirs and trucking to marketing your goods – northern farmers know the value of working together. Collaboration is not just good business – it’s survival.
The population of the Yukon is just over 47,000 with about half living in Whitehorse, one-quarter in the 14 First Nations communities, and the remaining quarter are disbursed among smaller communities such as Dawson City, Watson Lake, Carcross, Haines Junction and other more remote areas.
Nuffield Canada was established in Canada in 1950 and currently has more than 150 alumni. As part of a larger international community, Nuffield Canada has affiliate organizations in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Zimbabwe. Scholar recipients become members of the global Nuffield alumni network, more than 2,200 strong, who in return host and help current traveling scholars.
Source : Nuffield.ca