N.L. farm mentorship pilot program has two matches
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Emaad Al Ktifan, left, and Brian Kowalski harvesting kale together at Murray Meadows Farm in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, N.L.
Krista Chatman and Damian Oliver meet up at the farmers’ market in Clarenville, N.L., in June. (Contributed photos)
by Matthew Carlson
Two pairs of mentors and mentees are the first matches in the Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers Forum (NLYFF) mentorship pilot program. Krista Chatman of Three Mile Ridge farm in Lethbridge is paired with Damian Oliver of Musgravetown, and Brian Kowalski of Murray Meadows Farm in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s is paired with Emaad Al Ktifan, a Syrian refugee now living in St. John’s.
The mentorship pilot program has been offered since late 2017 and this spring the first successful matches were made. This initiative seeks to test the feasibility of such a program in the province and provides the hands-on learning that is crucial to the success of new farmers.
Krista and Damian were the first mentor-mentee match. Krista had been informally mentoring Damian for some time. She had already applied as a mentor in the program but was waiting for the right mentee application when it occurred to her that formalizing the existing mentorship would be the best way to go. She then encouraged Damian to apply.
Damian always had an interest in farming. He recalls becoming involved with his grandfather George Greening’s farm “ever since I was able to, at nine or 10 years old.” His grandfather had an egg farm at that time. Farming has been in Damian’s family since 1945 when his great-grandfather started the farm. His grandfather took it over in 1979.
Now that Damian has his own operation, called Hillview Farms, it’s vegetables that he is interested in growing. He grows several different types, including broccoli, corn, and many root vegetables such as carrots and turnip. He is operating on about 20 acres of land. He started last year, at age 19, with seven acres in production, which increased to 10 acres this year. Damian is happy with the progress he has made over time. He said he’s “improving as I go.”
Damian mostly sells his produce at the farmers’ market in Clarenville on Saturdays. He also participates in fall fairs and operates a roadside stand not far from Clarenville.
Damian has been mentored informally by Krista Chatman for some time now. She has been helping him on both the business and production sides. He goes to her farm on a fairly regular basis to discuss issues and see how she operates. Most dry days in the summer, he will be there at some point during the day, asking questions and getting opinions on how to proceed with challenges he encounters at his farm.
Not long after Krista and Damian’s match was made, the Association for New Canadians (ANC) contacted the NLYFF to indicate they had a potential match with another local farmer. ANC was already looking at matching Emaad Al Ktifan, along with another Syrian refugee with a background in farming named Nezar Khalif, with Murray Meadows Farm. They thought the NLYFF mentorship program might be a great way for Emaad to link with the farm.
Emaad was a farmer in Syria, where he grew crops and raised animals that are suited to the Newfoundland and Labrador climate (such as vegetables, chickens, and sheep), as well as crops that are not so well suited to this climate (such as grapes, olives, and melons). His focus will be on learning new production techniques and how to grow in this climate. He is also hoping to improve his English language skills and become a part of the local farming community.
As a father of six, Emaad’s longer-term goal is to have his own farm here. Mentor Brian Kowalski wants to see that happen as well, whether it be by Emaad starting his own farm or eventually taking over Murray Meadows.
In the shorter term, Brian defines success as being able to go away for a couple of weeks and not have to worry about anything on the farm. That is the stage he hopes to be at later on this year at the end of the mentorship program. At this early point in their mentorship, Brian feels like he is getting a lot out of it as well, saying “He’s teaching me more than I’m teaching him.”
Both mentorship placements are expected to last through this harvest season.
Funding to carry out the mentorship pilot program is provided through the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture’s Young Farmers Initiative project, which is supported through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
(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.)
