TOP: VICTORIA ROBINSON | BOTTOM RIGHT: 37 NORTH FARMS | 2025 ALL CANADA SHEEP CLASSIC | BOTTOM LEFT: CCESTEP8- ADOBE STOCK 17 www.SmallFarmCanada.ca Angiers states that he was told that he could not build a home on his Crown lease until he had farmed there for seven years and demonstrated gross sales of at least $30,000 three years in a row. He believes this system is also meant to discourage people from farming. As an experienced farmer who has produced food in Ontario and Alberta, he finds this puzzling. The transfer funds Ottawa sends to the province to support agriculture are based in part on the need for food in Labrador. But somehow, only a small part of the Labrador share of those millions of federal dollars reaches farmers in the north. Angiers has also been told repeatedly there is no broiler chicken quota available for Labrador under the provincial supply management system. This has a major impact on farmers in Labrador as compared to the island of Newfoundland. No chickens not only mean no meat but also no manure. Manure would be a major asset and has potential to return affordable nitrogen and micronutrients to the soil. Prince Edward Island, with a population of 178,000, produced $814 million in farm cash receipts in 2023. Newfoundland and Labrador, with a population of 545,000 produced $171 million in cash receipts the same year, with the next year (2024) heading in the wrong direction and dropping to $168 million. But, little by little, Angiers and the Newfoundland and Labrador community are making progress. He was able to obtain funding to build a cold storage unit. The provincial government’s ‘bedding plant’ program also makes it possible for farmers to obtain reasonably priced plants without having to start their own seed. And the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program provided funds for green manure and soil restoration. And don’t forget about the refrigerated truck…these are all hopeful signs. As local stores in coastal communities come onboard as customers, Angiers is hoping to make his weekly drives down the coast a profitable as well as satisfying proposition. He partly covers his fuel at present but keeps on working and building. Angiers dream of a healthy food system in Labrador is an investment that he continues to deliver on! WHAT’S NEXT? • Open the Crown land ownership transfer regulations • Get some poultry quota in Labrador • Obtain more provincial funding for Labrador farm- ers Part III of Tom Angiers’ story by Dan Rubin will be published in the May-June 2026 issue of Small Farm Canada magazine. - Julie
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