Episode Details

The House’s summer season focus on food security continues with a deep dive into the pressures on farmland — and the people who grow our food. 

Guest host Janyce McGregor speaks to the Stevens family, who turned down millions from developers to protect their farm for a thousand years. Tyler McCann of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute details where and how this land is being lost, while Ontario’s agriculture minister Trevor Jones explains the Ford government’s move to join other provinces’ ban on foreign ownership of farmland. 

Then, former farmer-turned-Saskatchewan-trade-minister Warren Kaeding reflects on the difficult decisions farmers make when it's time to pass on the family farm, and Farm Credit Canada’s Justine Hendricks outlines how the crown corporation is responding to the spike in land prices with more creative financing.

And, Janyce McGregor speaks to three people who’ve experienced mental health challenges due to the extreme stress of managing precarious finances, unpredictable weather patterns and rural isolation. Stewart Skinner, Lesley Kelley and Gerry Friesen lay out what’s needed to help farmers manage the weight of the responsibility to feed the nation in turbulent times. 

This episode features the voices of:

• Charles Stevens, owner Wilmot Orchards
• Courtney Stevens, cafe and social media manager for Wilmot Orchards
• Ian Parker, general manager of Wilmot Orchards
• Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute
• Trevor Jones, Ontario Minister of Agriculture
• Warren Kaeding, Saskatchewan Minister of Trade and Export Development
• Justine Hendricks, CEO of Farm Credit Canada
• Stewart Skinner, Ontario farmer
• Gerry Friesen, author of The Recovering Farmer
• Lesley Kelley, co-founder of the Do More Agriculture Foundation