For those graduates who have expressed interest in being a part of our incubator program this year, we will be in touch with each of you soon to review the details of the program and registration process. For any graduates who may still be interested in the incubator program and have yet to reach out to us, we encourage you to get in touch and we would love to discuss program options with you. By focusing our attention on our incubator program this season, we plan to expand the resources available to our incubator farmers and strengthen the programmatic components. If you have questions about our incubator program, please reach out to micheal.robinson@kpu.ca and katherine.hastie@kpu.ca.

 

Incubator Program:

If you want to take the next step in pursuing a career in farming, KPU Richmond Farm School offers graduates of the first year 8 month farmer training program the opportunity to apply for our second year incubator farming program! Upon the approval of your submitted business plan, incubator farmers will gain access to land, water use, tool and machinery sharing, and continued mentorship for up to 3 years. 
You will be solely responsible for managing your own operation on your allocated plots, and for all aspects of planning, budgeting, implementation, growing, and selling of your produce. 
You will also be joining an ever growing community of diverse farmers and teachers, be provided with learning opportunities, classes and workshops, receive continued mentorship and provide mentorship to new students entering the program. 
 

3 Options:

Option 1 - ¼ Acre Plot - $2,000
Option 2 - Macro Plot (50’x50’) - $1,500
Option 3 - Micro Plot (25’x25’) - $900
*Pricing valid for 2022 and subject to change

What’s Included:

• Lease for a minimum of 1 year, maximum of 3 years. Contracts reviewed and renewed every year, dependent on approval 
• Tool Share: Hand tools, wheelbarrows, flame weeder, Jang and Earthway seeders, weed whacker, walk behind tractor etc.
• Onsite Washrooms
• Individual mentorship - 3 hrs/year with 1 staff (to be used how you like)
• Group mentorship - 36 hrs/year with 2-3 staff (roughly 1x 3hr session per month)
• Can take as many first year classes as you like. 
• Discounted compost rates - $20 per yard *based on availability
• Not Included - Fuel for farm machinery

What We Expect Of You:

• You are responsible for maintaining your plot AND the 10ft buffer zone surrounding your plot, regardless of the size of land you are leasing. 
• Community Involvement - As part of being an incubator farmer, you are also a mentor. This isn’t just a piece of land, you are joining a community. In order to be an active member of this community, we have the following requirements of all our incubator farmers: 
  • 4 working days a year - (2 in the spring, 2 in the fall) We all come together as a team to get big projects done on the farm.
  • Working with students - It is now mandatory that students complete 30 hours of work on the farm outside of class time. If you would like student help on your incubator plot please let us know.