Planting the seeds for a sustainable future - City of Kamloops

190 operators, or 50.7%, have off farm employment. 185 farm operators reported no offfarm income. Only 30 reported less than 20 hours of off farm income per week.In 2011, the average age of farm operators in Area P was 57.7 - up from 54.7 in 2006.The average age of farmers in BC was 55.7, a trend similar to other business sectors.Only 10 (2.6%) of the 375 operators are under 35 years old, a drop from 15 in 2006. InBC, about 5.4% of farm operators are under 35.Recruitment of youngfarmers and successionplanning are becomingbigger issues over time.EmploymentAgriculture employs about 3,642 weeks of paid labour. This is equivalent to about 73 full-time jobs (Table 9). Of this number,45%, or 32.5, of these jobs are seasonal. The remainder are full-time, year-round positions. Reported employment is downfrom 43% from 6,351 weeks of paid labour in 2006.Table 9 – Weeks of paid employment on farms in Area P (Source: 2011 Census)Paid work 2011 2006 % change since 2006Farms 2011 Weeks Farms 2006 WeeksSeasonal 54 1,623 72 3,305 -51%Year round 24 2019 37 3,046 -34%Total 62 3642 95 6,351 -43%INFRASTRUCTUREProcessing, Value Added and Cold StorageA series of reports commissioned by Community Futures Thompson Country in the year 2000 suggests that one of the reasonsthere is not more value-added activity in the region is the lack of supporting services, including cooling. If reasonably pricedcooling were available, it would encourage more value-added activities, thereby "creating" its own market. An increase inCITY OF KAMLOOPS 37