The second "Job Salon of the Northern Land," an online event hosted by the Hokkaido Prefectural Government with the aim of communicating the appeal of Hokkaido's agriculture, forestry and fishing industries and promoting exchanges, was held on Saturday, November 21st. The theme was "Agriculture," and the guests were two people involved in agriculture in various parts of Hokkaido. We asked them what led them to start farming in Hokkaido, and their thoughts on their work and life.

Kuriyama Town/Kyuho Farm Megumi Hisaho

Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Worked as a systems engineer in the Kansai region, but quit after the Lehman Shock. After undergoing agricultural training in Shikaoi Town, Hokkaido, and working as an agricultural helper in Furano, he became a trainee at an agricultural production corporation in Kuriyama Town. After two years of training with the support of the local community, he began farming in the spring of 2014 on the minimum land area required for farming.

What led him to start farming in Kuriyama Town?

What prompted me to pursue a career in agriculture was the Lehman Shock of 2008. I wanted to run my own business so I left my job as an electrical circuit design engineer. Then in 2010, I participated in the New Farmers Fair.

I didn't know anything about agriculture in Hokkaido, but I love making bread and I visited the Hokkaido booth because I thought it would be great to make bread using wheat that I grew myself.

At that time, I was introduced to Shikaoi Town's "Pure Malt Agricultural Training Program," and I had the opportunity to do agricultural training in Shikaoi Town for three months from August to October of that year. After that training, I felt like farming was my calling and wanted to work in the industry, so I went back home and went to driving school, where I got my automatic license removed and obtained a large special vehicle license. In 2011, I visited Hokkaido again and worked as a farm helper organized by the agricultural cooperative in Furano city. I decided that I wanted to farm in Hokkaido after all, so I looked for a city or town that would accept me as a single person. I visited Kuriyama Town for the first time after being introduced to it by someone with a connection to the town, and I really liked the atmosphere and people of the town, so I decided to do my training in Kuriyama Town.

What was difficult about starting farming?

There was no precedent for a woman to start farming alone and become a manager, so it was difficult to gain understanding from those around me. At that time, I visited Bochibochi Farm, a new farm run by two women in Bihoro Town. I was encouraged by the words "If you're serious, gender doesn't matter," and I decided that I wanted to work in agriculture after all. He struggled to get the understanding of those around him, but in his second year of training he bought a new light truck. As he showed his enthusiasm and seriousness about farming, the people around him started to give in, and he finally managed to start farming. We rented 50ares of farmland, including four greenhouses, from the training site and began farming.

Cost of farming

He brought with him his savings from his time as a salaryman as his own funds. They receive a grant of 1.5 million yen per year from the government through the Agricultural Next Generation Human Resources Investment Fund (called the Youth Farming Subsidy at the time), which they spend on two years of training and the five years after starting farming. Fortunately, the training facility lent me all the equipment at first, so I was able to get started with little burden.

What we're currently working on and our outlook for the future

We currently mainly produce cucumbers, asparagus, and garlic, and ship them to direct sales outlets, JA, and supermarkets. In his third year of farming, he purchased a house, expanded the area of his farmland, and returned the vinyl greenhouse he had been renting. From spring to autumn, we work outside from sunrise to sunset, and in winter we help out at restaurants and livestock farmers' homes. Our sales are not growing at the moment, so in the future I would like to try to increase sales and move towards sixth-sector industrialization.

The appeal of agriculture

・You can live your own time When you start farming independently, you have a lot of freedom and are free to use your time however you like. ・My life and work overlap There is no separation between work and life, so I don't feel any stress. When I was working as an office worker, I had to switch between being at home and being outside, but now I don't have that duality at all. ・Become healthy and strong in mind and body When I was working as an engineer, I felt like I was surrounded by inanimate objects and had no opportunities to come into contact with living things. In Tokachi, there was life everywhere, and organic matter, grass, trees, animals, and insects all looked sparkling. Nature is honest, and so are the farmers. I believe this is my calling. My message to those who are aspiring to become new farmers is: ・Don't give up ・Back to basics Do the farming you love I think it's important to do this.

Sobetsu Town/Daisaku Farm Daisaku Kimura

Born in Toyako Town. After graduating from university, he worked as an agricultural trainee at an agricultural corporation in Date City for two years. While searching for a way to become a farmer with no savings, he learned about the farmer support system in Sobetsu Town, where he attended high school. After a year of training in the town, he started farming as a tomato farmer in 2009. He grows a variety of cherry tomatoes with great care, starting with the soil, and "cherry tomato picking" has become popular.

What prompted me to start farming?

Sobetsu Town is a town of agriculture and tourism, boasting magnificent natural scenery including Lake Toya, Showa Shinzan, and Mount Usu. Sobetsu is a small town with a population of around 2,500 people, and we chose it not only because of its beautiful nature, but also because the people there are truly wonderful. I was born and raised in Sobetsu Town in 1984. However, I grew up in a salaryman's family and had no connection to agriculture. Ever since elementary school, I've found it painful to sit and take classes, and the same continued in junior high school. When I was choosing which high school to go to, I took a trial class at Sobetsu High School, an agricultural high school, and heard that half of the day would be spent outside for training. As I wasn't good at classroom learning, I decided to go to an agricultural high school. That was my motivation for deciding to go to an agricultural high school, but in the end I found that agriculture suited me very well, and even though I hated studying, I wanted to learn more about it. Until then, I had never thought about going to university, but I wanted to study agriculture, so I went on to study Agricultural Economics at Hokkaido Rakuno Gakuen University. I knew I wanted to work in the agricultural industry in the future, but that didn't necessarily mean being a farmer, so I spent four years exploring different options. While I was in school, I decided to become a teacher at an agricultural high school, so I obtained a teaching qualification and did my teaching internship. However, while studying agriculture for the qualification, I came to realize once again the breadth of agriculture and the depth of each aspect. When I thought about standing in front of a classroom and teaching, I realized that I didn't have enough knowledge to teach students, "This is agriculture." From there, I decided to go to a farm and study agriculture. I was able to use all of my long holidays from university to work as a live-in employee, and it occurred to me that farming and sharing my knowledge as a farm teacher might be a good fit for me. So after passing the first round of the teacher recruitment exam, I made a big change of direction and decided to aim to become a farmer.

Reasons for choosing Sobetsu Town

The reason I chose Sobetsu Town was because I wanted to be able to farm all year round. In areas with severe snow and cold, some people have to go out to work in the winter, but I wanted to grow crops all year round. I decided to choose a region in the southern part of Hokkaido, and went to consult with agricultural employment offices in several cities and towns. The questions they are always asked are, "Do you have your own funds?" and "Do you have a spouse?" However, I had been training as an agricultural trainee for two years with a salary of about 100,000 yen per month, so I was not in an environment where I could save money and had no savings. Realizing that it is impossible to start farming without one's own funds, I considered saving money for a few years. However, at the time I was 23 years old and had a strong desire to start farming as young as possible. Farming is a year-round job, and you can only experience it once a year, so even if you do it for 80 years, you can only experience it about 50 times. My goal was to become a master farmer in the future, so I wanted to start farming and train as soon as possible, and I was looking for a town where I could start without having to put in any of my own money. At that time, I went to the Sobetsu Town Farming Employment Office to ask for advice. Up until then, I had only been asked about money and spouses, but in Sobetsu Town, they recognized my enthusiasm and youth and told me, "If you're motivated, go ahead and start." After that, I found a boss and became a farmer at the age of 24, and I've been farming for 11 years since then.

Difficulties

Although it seems like I sell myself as having started without any of my own money, I had a very hard time, so I always advise people who come to me for advice that it's best to "definitely save up your own money before starting." Very few people get things right from the start, and I too made many mistakes and there were times when I barely made ends meet. Also, there were times when the lack of separation between work and personal time caused my wife a lot of hardship. We have four children, and my wife was busy giving birth and raising them, so there was a time when I was doing almost all of the work on the farm by myself. I knew this wasn't good enough, so I tried various things to improve it.

The rewards and attractions of agriculture

I think it's great to be able to live on your own time and for your life and work to be integrated. However, for about four or five years after I started farming, I didn't have the time to think about such things. The reason we were able to continue despite all the difficulties was because of the help we received from the people of Sobetsu Town. Sobetsu Town is a small town, so when a new farmer arrives, he or she stands out, and everyone in the community knows them, but the other person themselves has no idea about them. I didn't want this situation to continue, so I started attending neighborhood meetings and other events. There, I got to know the people in the town, many of whom were farmers and teachers, and they lent me their machinery and taught me all sorts of things. Thanks to them, I was able to produce good quality rice, even though this was my first attempt at growing rice this year. Even people who are not farmers have helped us by buying our rice and vegetables. Therefore, I think the most important thing when starting out as a farmer is to blend into the local community. In addition, Daisaku Farm holds cherry tomato picking events in order to interact with consumers. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of visitors to the park has increased, which makes it rewarding.

summary

This time, we spoke with two farmers, Hisataka, who started farming in Kuriyama Town, and Kimura, who started farming in Sobetsu Town. Both of them were wonderful people who felt pride and great fulfillment in their work as farmers, who had broken down the barriers between their work and personal lives, and who were striving to reach higher and higher as farmers. If you'd like to get involved in agriculture in Hokkaido or would like to hear more about it, why not try making your dream a reality one step at a time by participating in an online event or consulting with your city or town? The next "Job Salon in the Northern Lands" will have the theme "Fisheries." The event will be held on Saturday, December 19th from 2:00 p.m. Please apply here!

Job Salon in the Northern Lands 3rd Edition: Fisheries To apply, please click on this image.