And So it Begins

Some of you may know that my main means of feeding my bad habits, is teaching Canadian newcomers how to start a business in Canada.
I get a lot of questions about various business ideas etc, but one in particular has been coming up more and more...

"Can I earn a living from a farm?"

I can't even tell you how much up my alley that question is. (For you non canadians, up my alley means perfectly in line with what I like)

It forced me to start researching a little more closely to get the information I need.

In a nutshell, the answer is Duh YES!. Good farmland in my part of Canada is amazingly cheap (often less than 500.00/acre) Organic farming is on the rise, and can't even come close to meeting the local demand (we import 90% of our organic food because there are not enough farmers to meet the need) I have met with many organic farmers who sell as much as $160,000.00 produce per year from two acres (yes TWO)acres of cultivated land.

But here's the really cool part. in my research, I realized that there is a need for a kind of teaching farm in our area, a place where people can learn and practice the skills they need to farm organically. In the course of my research, I've met everyone from farmers, to NGOs to Municipal/Federal/Provincial officials, Land developers, and landscape architects. The result?

I have been given Two acres to start with and potentially ten acres, in order to develop an organic teaching farm in my City.

I don't even know how it all happened. It just kind of snowballed from that question one of my students asked.

How will it all turn out?

I'll keep you posted.