Episode 5

Beyond Private Ownership: Where does the conversation need to go?

Release Date:

With Episode 5 comes an in depth conversation between two (previous) co-farmers and friends on how to find security in a precarious system. 

This episode is part of a larger conversation of imagining a relationship to land that is beyond our colonial understanding. We intend to continue the conversation after this series is released, and we encourage you to reach out to producer Maddie Marmor if you have ideas on how to do so. 

LINKS

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Other Episodes in this series

Episode 1: Why Land Access?

Land access is a constant topic among young farmers: “Where are you farming? How did you get the land?” In this episode, hosts Stuart Oke,...

Episode 2: What’s the deal with Québec?

The crew explores how Québec is leading the way in farm renewal through effective policies and regional solutions. With insights from farmers, policymakers, and land...

Episode 3: If I could say one thing to someone wanting to farm from my context, it would be…

Farming journeys are rarely the same, whether first-generation or intergenerational. There’s no simple path, making the ‘how’ hard to pin down. In this episode, the...

Episode 4: Farming on ‘Public’ Lands – Highs and Lows

Public lands in Canada—like parks or crown land—are government-managed, with the nation’s people as primary stakeholders. S&G sought out the rare cases where growing food...

Episode 6: Finding Hope in the Unique Stories

Reflect on the season’s land access stories and strategies with S&G hosts. While six episodes can’t capture every voice, the conversation is growing, and we’ll...
View all episodes in:

contributors

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Madeline (Maddie) Marmor

Maddie is a landless farmer born in downtown Toronto. She has been farming for the past 8 years on farms throughout Ontario and has grown food on the current and traditional lands of the Houdensaunee, Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk, Mississauga, Odawa, Wendake-Nionwentsïo, Petun, Saugeene – Ojibiway nations. Over the years she has come to recognize the privilege and political significance of farming on stolen land, knowledge which has informed her dedication to food sovereignty and agroecology. She is an active member of the National Farmers Union, sits on the North American Nyéléni Coordination and accompanies systems change in food spaces as an adult education facilitator. 

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Aliyah Fraser

Aliyah is a Kitchener-based farmer who owns and operates a quarter acre market garden called Lucky Bug Farm on rented land in Waterloo Region where she grows a variety of produce for a small CSA program. The farm operates within the Haldimand Tract in Kitchener, Ontario and is on the traditional territory of the Mississauga, Anishnabeg, Attiwonderonk (neutral) and Haudenoshaunee peoples. She imagines a food system where more people have access to ecologically grown food, where there is less waste and where there’s a better understanding of the labour it takes to get food from the farm to the table. Aliyah also has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies in Urban planning from the University of Waterloo. She believes that food and housing are human rights. She lives in Kitchener, Ontario with her partner Thomas and cat Frankie.

luckybugfarm.com | @luckybugfarm

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Stuart Oke

Stuart is a young farmer from Eastern Ontario who, alongside his partner Nikki, owns and operates Rooted Oak Farm, a 12 acre organic vegetable and cut flower farm. After years of renting land Rooted Oak in 2020 relocated to Eastern Ontario, and the traditional territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudensaunee and Oneida Peoples. In addition to loving food and taking pride in growing food that sustains people, the farm was founded on the idea that farming is a political act, one capable of creating great change.

www.rootedoak.ca | @rootedoakfarm

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Leslie Moskovits

Leslie Moskovits (she/her) owns and manages Cedar Down Farm near Neustadt, ON, Saukiing Anishnaabekiing territory,  with her partner Jeff Boesch.  We farm with a team of dedicated co-farmers – Jess Martin and Ahren Hughes as well as others who come and go!  Cedar Down grows diverse certified organic vegetables for a 200-ish member CSA program providing spring, summer and winter shares to a local membership and to members in Guelph, ON.  We also grow veggies for other small local food businesses such as the Conscious Farm Kitchen and the foodio at Burdock Grove Farm.  We grow veggies in the field and in 4 hoophouses for about 7 acres of vegetable production and manage about 20 acres total with cover crops for garden rotation.  Cedar Down is committed to serving our community high quality food, building community relationships and providing meaningful, equitable and enjoyable employment for our farm team.

Cedar Down Farm / IG: @cedardown2

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Sara Dent

For the past dozen years, with a team of collaborators, Sara has grown a farmer2farmer educational resource network for new and young farmers called Young Agrarians. Young Agrarians supports the next generation to access land, mentorship, business supports, on-farm training in regenerative agriculture, peer networks, and online resources. The network is coast-to-coast at the grassroots level with on-going programs across Western Canada. Sara works to develop programs and funding, manage strategic growth, and oversee the team. Across Western Canada, Young Agrarians now has twenty-eight staff. Sara has 20 years of experience in agriculture and food systems, working in the charitable sector developing programs, fundraising, farming, building community, acting as an agent for change, and is an Ashoka Fellow. 

youngagrarians.org / E-News: Sign Up / FB YoungAgrarians / IG @youngagrarians / Flickr: youngagrarians