ABOUT US
2021/22 CYFF Board of Directors
Justin Williams (Chair), Julie Bissonnette (Vice-Chair & ON/QC Rep), Paul Glenn (Past Chair), Rachael Verwey (SK/MB/NT Rep), Mike Henderson (AB/BC/YT Rep), Nichole Van Dyk (NF/NS Rep), Carolyn Wilson (NB/PE Rep), Russell Reitsema (Member at Large), Guenette Bautz (General Manager)
EMPOWER / EDUCATE / ENERGIZE
A powerful national network of young farmers!
The CYFF Organization
MISSION: Empowered Canadians leading a profitable and attractive agriculture industry.
VISION: To educate and energize a powerful network of young farm leaders.
The CYFF’s purpose is to provide a multi-faceted educational and development opportunity for young and beginning farmers from across Canada. More specifically, to:
- Identify the problems encountered by young people looking to become established in agriculture, and to exchange ideas about solutions applied in Canada and around the world;
- Promote the exchange of ideas on issues of training and capacity building, and to identify program needs and preferred delivery methods;
- Enable young people throughout Canada to become familiar with the realities of the agriculture industry in every province;
- Prepare young and beginning farmers for a more active role in Canada’s agricultural organizations;
- Consolidate the opinion of young and beginning farmers across Canada on agriculture and rural issues; and
- Facilitate the development of and provide support to provincial young farmer structures in every province and territory in the Country.
The CYFF organization is continually exploring additional ways to contribute to agriculture in a positive way, by supporting the growth of the industry, assisting producers to develop skills, providing business education and encouraging innovative advancements in agriculture.
Annual Networking Conference & General Meeting
Young and beginning farmers from across Canada gather together once each year for the Annual Meeting and Conference of the Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum. Any Canadian young farmer is welcome to attend the annual event. Through government and sponsorship funding, the CYFF funds delegates from each provincial and territorial region to attend the annual conference. The annual conference provides valuable knowledge which producers take back to their own operations to initiate changes that will shape their futures in agriculture.
Involvement on National Agriculture Boards
The CYFF board of directors are active members of many national agriculture organizations, bringing insight from the perspective of a young agriculture producer to various policy meeting rooms. Some of the committees the CYFF board of directors sit on include the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, 4-H Canada, Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council, Canadian Agriculture Safety Association, Grain Growers of Canada, and many more.
The Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum is a vital national organization that provides conferences, workshops, funding and support to 11 provincial and territorial organizations.
Supporting and Funding 11 provincial affiliated organizations
CYFF is the national organization affiliated with provincial and territorial organizations. Young Farmers from across Canada have the opportunity to connect with their peers at the provincial level through the independent provincial organizations or by attending the CYFF’s national young farmers conference which brings young farmers from each province together at the annual event to network, learn and contribute to the future of ag programming.
- Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers Forum
- Young Farmers of Prince Edward Island
- Nova Scotia Young Farmers Forum
- New Brunswick Young Farmers Forum
- La FRAQ – Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec
- Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario
- Manitoba Young Farmers
- Saskatchewan Young Ag-Entrepreneurs
- Alberta Young Farmers and Ranchers
- BC Young Farmers
- Yukon Young Farmers
Networking and communications
CYFF provides opportunities for young and beginning farmers to network through face-to-face interaction at provincial and national events. CYFF is connecting young farmers, creating an environment for mentorship. Using social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media outreach methods) CYFF reaches young farmers from coast to coast, delivering key messages and connecting producers.
Board of directors face-to-face meetings
Twice a year, the elected board of directors meet face-to-face to focus on the organization, setting directions and planning activities that will improve agriculture for young producers in Canada and advance the organization.
Why sponsor CYFF?
CYFF conducts a variety of initiatives that can align to the needs and objectives of our sponsors – please contact the CYFF office to discuss available sponsorship opportunities.
- Gain access to a nationwide audience that represents the future of agriculture in Canada;
- Target niche sectors or specific geographic regions that are most relevant to your business;
- Support young farmers in their efforts to better educate and prepare themselves for the agriculture industry;
- Market products/services that are relevant to this group both now and in the future;
- Become part of an increasingly important challenge the world is facing… by 2050 there will be 9 billion mouths to feed and CYFF is playing a major role in ensuring Canada is at the forefront of meeting this challenge!