Bringing beekeeping and berry farming to Alberta
The Canadian province of Alberta is one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world, yet new farmers face many obstacles. At the University of Alberta, Aleksandra Tymczak is studying what motivates people to start beekeeping or berry farming, exploring the importance of sharing knowledge, and investigating how to break down the barriers that new farmers face.
Talk like an agricultural researcher
Agricultural extension — advisory services that provide knowledge and guidance for farmers to apply in their agricultural practices
Agricultural system — any system that produces commodities (crops, livestock, and/or value-added products), including the social, political and economic components that intersect with the agricultural production
Processor — in agriculture, the individuals or companies which purchase raw products from farmers (e.g., wheat) and convert them into value-added products (e.g., flour)
Semi-structured interview — an interview that encourages participants to expand on their answers
Small-scale producer — in Alberta, a farmer with 1 to 25 paid employees
Value-added product — a commodity that has been enhanced to have a higher price than the raw materials used to make it
“Alberta has one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies,” says Aleksandra Tymczak, a PhD candidate at the University of Alberta. “It brings in over a quarter of Canada’s total farm revenue and has over 49.2 million acres devoted to farmland.” However, as agriculture becomes increasingly industrialised, small-scale producers face barriers which prevent them from effectively growing and selling their products. Through her research, Aleksandra is exploring these barriers and hopes to find potential ways to overcome them.
Bees and berries
While wheat is Alberta’s largest agricultural crop and cattle provide the largest agricultural revenue, Aleksandra chose to focus on beekeeping and berry farming, which generally occur in smaller-scale operations. “Alberta has the largest beekeeping industry in Canada, which has developed both because of its favourable environment and the abundance of flowering crops that provide nectar for the bees,” she explains. “Alberta’s berry industry is also expanding, in both size and variety, with products ranging from familiar strawberries and raspberries through to lesser-known types such as haskap berries and elderberries.”
Aleksandra decided that the best way to understand the barriers and opportunities facing these industries was to talk directly to the people involved in them. “I conducted semi-structured interviews with a range of people, including small-scale producers, processors, policy and government representatives, and farming association members,” she says. “This interview method is useful for capturing participants’ experiences and opinions.”
Reference
https://doi.org/10.33424/FUTURUM522
During the interviews, Aleksandra asked participants questions about their thoughts on the state of local agricultural systems and opportunities for future development. Questions for producers and processors also covered more specific topics about their motivations to enter the berry and beekeeping industries, the barriers they faced in running and scaling up their farming operations, and opportunities for learning and innovation.
Motivations, challenges and opportunities
“Participants had complex and unique motivations for joining these industries,” says Aleksandra. “In general, motivations could be grouped into four main categories: 1) growing up on a farm; 2) having a passion for farming; 3) experiencing agriculture during travel, education and networking opportunities; and 4) having an interest in farming as a hobby.” These last two categories were new insights that had not been uncovered by previous research. Aleksandra notes that more specific motivations lie within these four categories, including self-satisfaction when naturally producing food, entrepreneurship to make money, and diversification from other forms of farming (e.g., cattle) for risk mitigation or a career change.
The interviews also uncovered a breadth of challenges facing new farmers, many of them financial. These include high start-up costs, low expected profits and increasing operational costs. The price of land has been driven up as investors buy it for residential and other developments, meaning it is becoming harder for new farmers to buy land to start their farms.
Another significant barrier is lack of access to processing operations. Processing berries into jams and preserves, for example, leads to a product with higher profit margins: a value-added product. However, many processors only work with large-scale suppliers. This means small-scale producers are unable to grow sufficient quantities of produce to make it worthwhile for the processors to turn them into a value-added product. Small-scale producers may also struggle to access consumer markets due to their small quantities and a lack of marketing and branding opportunities.
Though the challenges facing new beekeepers and berry farmers are significant, Aleksandra believes that promising solutions are out there. “Establishing local processing hubs, where many small-scale producers can send their produce for processing together, could solve some of these issues,” she says. “Similarly, working with other small-scale producers to scale up collective packaging and marketing efforts can help access consumer markets.” Aleksandra also points to the emerging field of agritourism, where farms run activities such as farm tours, pick-your-own operations (also known as ‘U-picks’), and educational or recreational events. “Demand for agritourism is growing as consumers become more interested in supporting local farmers,” she says. “Farmers can capitalise on this demand to generate additional revenues and to educate and enthuse customers about their products.”
Knowledge is power
Knowledge sharing is also vital. Agricultural systems are increasingly complex, and farmers are expected to be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’, managing crops, finances, logistics, marketing, food safety, and many other areas simultaneously. Many new farmers learn by trial-and-error, but making mistakes can be devastating. If a product is recalled due to a food safety issue, or if a harvest is damaged by pests, then it will have a huge financial impact on a small-scale producer.
New farmers need to seek learning opportunities, which often come in the form of governmental educational programmes called agricultural extension. “However, government help seems insufficient for new entrants,” says Aleksandra. “Increasingly, social organisations are emerging to fill this gap.” Her research indicates a need to transfer knowledge not just through extension agents, but also between those working in agriculture through social interactions and collective learning. “All stakeholders within the agricultural system (including producers, processors, business specialists, etc.) have enough local and practical expertise to contribute to knowledge generation and transfer within the agricultural industry,” concludes Aleksandra.
Now, Aleksandra’s research will contribute to building the knowledge needed to reduce the barriers facing new farmers and to allow beekeepers and berry farmers to take advantage of novel opportunities. By bringing this new knowledge to producers, processors and policymakers, stakeholders can collectively work together towards a brighter future for small-scale producers in Alberta.
Aleksandra Tymczak
PhD candidate, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada
Fields of research: Agricultural studies, urban and regional planning
Research project: Examining the motivations, barriers and opportunities facing small-scale beekeepers and berry farmers in Alberta, Canada
Funder: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
About agricultural studies
The field of agricultural studies is very broad, involving everything from how to make food production more efficient and sustainable, to examining business and financial systems connected to agriculture. Aleksandra explains more:
“An agricultural system is a set of components working together in an interconnected network. The foundational building block is ‘the farmer’, but they rely on other actors such as policymakers, processors, distributors and consumers to complete the system and make it function well. Another key component is the physical land, as policies or practices affecting the land, such as rural planning, water management and resource extraction, will all have implications for agriculture. Knowledge is another key, often overlooked, component of agricultural systems.
“Agricultural systems evolve as the relationships within them evolve. The whole web of relations is a product of history, so understanding the history of agriculture builds an understanding of the agricultural system – including opportunities for transformation. In Alberta, current policies and regulations stem from decisions made in the early 1900s. These decisions include prioritising large-scale, export-oriented production of a few specialised commodities, namely grain and livestock, at the expense of small-scale production. These decisions need to be re-examined if we are to make small-scale production more viable.”
Pathway from school to agricultural studies
Aleksandra highlights that the range of opportunities within agricultural studies is ever-growing. Many of these opportunities open doors for people without family farming backgrounds to enter the industry, or for business-literate people looking for a career change.
Agricultural colleges offer traditional agricultural education programmes which will prepare you for a practical career in agriculture. These include courses in animal science, crop production, horticulture and food production technology. Newer programmes related to agricultural studies include agritourism, business management, agriculture technology and agribusiness.
Explore careers in agricultural studies
Look for agricultural work experience opportunities, such as helping on a farm or at a farmers’ market.
Aleksandra recommends networking with those within the agricultural industry and learning from experienced farmers about best practice, overcoming barriers and emerging opportunities. For example, you can visit farms during Alberta Open Farm Days: www.albertaopenfarmdays.ca
In Canada, Young Agrarians (www.youngagrarians.org) provides networking opportunities and educational programmes for young people with an interest in farming who may have no prior experience in agriculture, as well as internships and mentor schemes.
Meet Aleksandra
As a teenager, I was interested in laboratory sciences, and I thought I would probably pursue a career in medical research. But during the first year of my nutrition and food science degree, I became interested in food and cooking. After taking further courses related to food production (including food engineering and food product development), I officially decided to pursue agricultural and food studies.
I was inspired to study nutrition and food science by speaking with students on the course and hearing about the opportunities within the programme. The inspiration of impactful professors then developed my passion for food safety, and so I did a master’s in food safety. This included learning about policymaking, which developed my interest in local agricultural systems in Alberta.
The field of agriculture and food production is vast. During my education, I sought opportunities in a food microbiology lab, in antimicrobial resistance research, and in food safety policy analysis. This helped me develop a well-rounded understanding of the field and a diverse set of skills, as well as allowing me to learn from supervisors who mentored me along the way.
After I complete my PhD, I want to work within agriculture and food production in Alberta. This could be within academia, research, policymaking or product development.
I’m also a foodie in my free time! I love cooking and exploring local restaurants with my friends. I also enjoy gardening, going on walks, reading, playing board games, watching baseball and playing guitar.
Aleksandra’s top tips
1. Seek and pursue opportunities available to you, within and outside of academia. Gaining experience in a range of areas is vital.
2. Don’t be afraid to reach out and meet people in the fields that interest you. Even if it’s just to have a chat about mutual interests, these connections and learning opportunities are very valuable. During your education and career journey, it’s important to have people who will support and guide you.
Do you have a question for Aleksandra?
Write it in the comments box below and Aleksandra will get back to you. (Remember, researchers are very busy people, so you may have to wait a few days.)
Learn more about the challenges facing new farmers:
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