The policy to guide the Yukon’s agricultural industry over the next 10 years was released Wednesday by Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ranj Pillai.

He was joined at the press conference by Sonny Gray, the president of the Yukon Agricultural Association, and Lorne Metropolit, the owner of Yukon Gardens, which hosted the event.

The 42-page policy document is titled Cultivating Our Future: 2020 Yukon Agricultural Policy.

The document outlines four primary objectives:

• Support the agricultural economy;

• Create and protect agricultural land;

• Promote resilient and sustainable agriculture;

• Foster growth through partnership and community.

“Cultivating our Future outlines how the Government of Yukon will support the continued growth of Yukon’s agriculture industry and our ability to be more self-sufficient in food production over the next decade,” said Pillai.

The minister said development of the policy, the fourth for the territory, was guided by the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee and consultation with the industry, First Nations and the public.

It involved several years of work, he said.

Pillai said Yukon Gardens was the perfect venue to unveil the policy, given the success the business has had in providing fresh produce to the local market, all year-round.

The territory’s agricultural industry is thriving, is growing and has been a driver for the territory’s economy over the last few years, he said.

Pillai said the policy is not directed at any one sector of the agriculture industry but rather views the industry as a whole.

“I think it is something really that is going to benefit all Yukoners,” Pillai said.

“We know Yukoners have a strong interest in local food production and eating locally,” he said.

“Recent events surrounding closures of borders and impacts on large-scale food production have only increased the interest of Yukoners in developing our capacity to produce food in our territory and in our own backyards.”

The president of the agricultural association said Cultivating our Future truly is a guiding document.

The advisory committee, Gray emphasized, put a lot of time and effort into developing the new policy, and discussing all angles of the industry, he said.

“The document, we feel, is going to be beneficial for farmers over the next 10 years,” said Gray.

The policy document notes the most recent federal statistics available up to 2016 point out that between 2011 and 2016, the number of farms grew by nine per cent, with more than 142 farms in the Yukon and a total farm area of 10,646 hectares.

Total investments in farming up to 2016, including land, buildings and livestock, were reported at $108 million.

The value of production by the industry in 2016 alone totalled $3.9 million.

The 2016 federal census pointed out the number of farms across Canada was shrinking, and farmers on average were getting older. In the Yukon, the trend was reversed, it said.

Pillai estimated growth in the last five years is in the neighbourhood of five to six per cent.

“I think we are going to get into double digits pretty quick,” the minister said.

Metropolit told reporters and others gathered for the announcement that he’s been in the business for 38 years.

Never has he seen it as busy as it has been so far this year, he said.

Metropolit said he has to, for instance, bring in double the amount of peat moss for sale that Yukon Gardens normally brings in.

The impact of COVID-19 may have contributed to the upswing in business this year, he acknowledged.

“But our industry is definitely growing,” he insisted. “There has definitely been tremendous growth. Anyway, it’s all systems go.”

The veteran horticulturist said he’s seeing the younger generations, men and women, getting into growing their own food, and farming in general.

And he offered words of encouragement for the less experienced who are wondering why their crops are behind this year, who are wondering why their potatoes and cabbages are not as big as they should be.

“I only hope they do not feel like they have done something wrong,” Metropolit said. “It has something to do with the weather.

“Persevere, and you will end up with a nice crop by the end of the season.”

Following the press conference, Metropolit provided a tour of the fully-automated greenhouse at Yukon Gardens.

It employs about a dozen people year-round, except the one month a year when they shut down in December.

It’s the month that they let the greenhouse freeze solid, quickly.

They do bring in good bugs to eat the bad bugs. But the sudden freeze annually catches the bad bugs off-guard before they can adapt.

For the other 11 months, it’s production.

Yukon Gardens supplies produce to many of the grocery stores and smaller retailers in Whitehorse.

They grow seven varieties of tomatoes, from cherries up through to beef steak tomatoes, their most popular.

There’s kale, pepper, basil, mini- and long English cucumbers, and butter crunch lettuce.

Pillai told the gathering the Yukon’s capacity to produce food continues to grow.

There are beef, dairy, hog and poultry operations, along with an emerging sheep and goat industry, he said.

At local markets like the weekly Fireweed Market, Pillai said, you can find value-added products like birch syrup and preserves.

Local restaurants are eager to serve more homegrown cuisine, he said.

The minister said there are community- and First Nation-based farms and greenhouses.

“There is tremendous interest in local food, local markets and creating food security,” Pillai said.

“That interest combined with hard work and planning has resulted in operations such as the Metropolit family’s Yukon Gardens.

“... We want this capacity and the related economic development opportunities surrounding local agriculture to continue, and that’s what Cultivating our Future is about: planning for the future of Yukon agriculture.”