Aspiring farmers wanted in eastern N.L.
/by Matthew Carlson
There’s a great opportunity for those interested in getting into farming in the St. John’s, N.L., area. The O’Brien Farm Foundation’s incubator farm program has three open plots for the upcoming 2022 growing season.
An excavator operator prepares incubator plot sites on the O’Brien Farm property in St. John’s, N.L. (Contributed photo)
The program will provide access to resources such as equipment, land, and mentoring. The plots are generally about a half-acre, with most suited to vegetable growing. The program aims to address barriers to beginning farmers, including access to land, capital, and credit. It provides opportunities to learn and develop skills in farm business planning.
Work to prepare the site for incubator plots took place throughout the 2021 season, with field development, removal of invasive couch grass, greenhouse construction, and well and irrigation development.
The first incubator farmers set up during the 2021 season, which was the program’s pilot year. One of the first incubator farmers is raising goats on the site.
The O’Brien Farm Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for the preservation and growth of the historic O’Brien Farm, which is an active, working farm where people learn about and practise sustainable food production. The foundation also tells the story of Irish settlement in St. John’s through the story of the O’Brien family. When the last member of the O’Brien family, Aly O’Brien, died in 2008, he left the farm in his will to be preserved for the public good.
The incubator program is a great example of how the O’Brien family’s wishes are being carried out. It joins other existing initiatives on the site, including the restoration of Thimble Cottage, trail development, and a community garden. Construction of a new learning centre also began on the property last fall.
Incubator program applicants require business, production, and cash flow plans. Contact farm manager Aaron Rodgers at aaron@obrienfarm.ca for more information.
(Matthew Carlson is the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture’s young farmers coordinator. He has been with the federation since 2007 and moved into his current position in 2015.)
