The second "Jobs Salon in the Northern Land", an online event hosted by the Hokkaido Government with the aim of communicating and exchanging information on the appeal of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in Hokkaido, was held on Saturday, November 21, 2012.
The theme was "Agriculture," and the guests were two people engaged in agriculture in various parts of Hokkaido. We asked them about their reasons for starting farming in Hokkaido and their thoughts on their work and lifestyle.

Ms. Megumi Kuho, Kuho Farm, Kuriyama-cho

Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Worked as a system engineer in Kansai, but left after the Lehman Shock. After training in agriculture in Shikaoi Town, Hokkaido, and working as an agricultural helper in Furano, she became a trainee at an agricultural production corporation in Kuriyama Town. After 2 years of training with the support of local people, he started farming in the spring of 2014 with the minimum area required to start farming.

Why did he start farming in Kuriyama-cho?

The Lehman Shock of 2008 triggered my desire to become a farmer.
I wanted to run my own business, so I quit the company where I worked as an electric circuit design engineer.
Then, in 2010, I participated in the New Farmer Fair.

I knew nothing about agriculture in Hokkaido, but I visited the Hokkaido booth because I liked baking bread and thought, "It would be great if I could make bread with wheat I grew myself.

At that time, I was introduced to the "Pure Malt Agricultural Training Program" in the town of Shikaoi-cho, and for three months from August to October of that year, I was given agricultural training in Shikaoi-cho.
The training made me want to work in agriculture so much that I thought "agriculture is my calling." I went back home and went to a driving school to get my license to drive an automatic transmission and a large-sized special license.

In 2011, I visited Hokkaido once more and worked as a farm helper organized by an agricultural cooperative in Furano City. I knew I wanted to farm in Hokkaido, so I searched for a municipality that would accept a single person.

I was introduced to Kuriyama by a person with ties to the town, which led me to visit the town for the first time. I liked the atmosphere of the town and its people so much that I decided to do my training in Kuriyama Town.

What was difficult about starting a farm?

There was no precedent for a woman to become a farm manager by herself, and it was difficult to gain the understanding of the people around me.
At that time, I visited "Bochibochi Farm," where two women started a new farm in Bihoro Town.
I was encouraged by the farmer, who said, "If you are serious about farming, it doesn't matter what gender you are," and I decided that I wanted to farm.

Although it was difficult to gain the understanding of those around her, she purchased a new light truck in her second year of training. When he showed his enthusiasm and seriousness about farming, the people around him seemed to lose patience with him, and he finally succeeded in getting a farm.
He rented a 50 a plot of land, including four greenhouses, from the training institute and started farming.

How much money does it cost to start farming?

I had my savings from my salaried employee days as personal funds.
I received 1.5 million yen per year from the government through the Agricultural Investment Fund for Next-Generation Human Resources (at the time, a benefit for young farmers) for two years of training and the first five years of farming.
Fortunately, my training partner lent me all the machinery and other equipment I needed to get started, so I was able to start with little burden.

What you are growing now and what the future holds

Right now, my main crops are cucumbers, asparagus, and garlic, which I ship to direct sales outlets, JA, and supermarkets.

In my third year of farming, I bought a house, expanded the area of my farmland, and returned the plastic greenhouses I had rented.
From spring to fall, I work outside from sunrise to sunset, and in winter I help out at restaurants and livestock farmers' homes.
Sales are not growing very well at the moment, so I would like to try to increase sales and to take on the challenge of sixth industrialization in the future.

Attractiveness of Farming

You can live your own time.
When you are an independent farmer, the way you spend your time is up to you and you are very free.
Life and work overlap.
There is no separation between life and work, so there is no stress. When I was a salaried worker, I used to switch modes between inside and outside the house, but now there is no such duality at all.
I am healthier and stronger both physically and mentally.

When I was working as an engineer, I felt like I was surrounded by inorganic things and had no chance to come in contact with living things.
In Tokachi, there was life everywhere, organic matter, grass, trees, animals, and insects all seemed to sparkle.
There was no lie in nature, and there was no lie in the farmers. I believe this is my calling.

What is your message to those who want to become farmers?
Never give up.
Go back to the basics.
Do the kind of farming you love.
I think it is important to

Sobetsu Town / Daisaku Kimura, Daisaku Farm

Born in Toyako Town. After graduating from university, he worked for two years as an agricultural trainee at an agricultural corporation in Date City. After one year of training in the town, he started farming as a tomato farmer in 2009. After a year of training in the town, he became a tomato farmer in 2009, growing many varieties of mini-tomatoes, paying special attention to soil preparation, and "mini-tomato picking" has become popular.

Why did he start farming?

Sobetsu-cho is a town of agriculture and tourism with magnificent nature including Lake Toya, Mt.
It is a small town with a population of about 2,500 people. I chose Sobetsu because of its wonderful nature, of course, but also because the people there are truly wonderful.

I was born and raised in Sobetsu Town in 1984. However, I came from a family of businessmen and had nothing to do with farming.
From elementary school, I felt pain in sitting in class, and it was the same in junior high school.

When it came time to choose a high school to go to, I decided to go to Sobetsu High School, which is an agricultural high school, and after hearing that half of the day is spent outside training, I decided to go to an agricultural high school because I was not comfortable with classroom work.
I decided to go to an agricultural high school for that reason, but as it turned out, agriculture suited me very well and I wanted to learn more about agriculture, even though I hated studying.

I had never thought about going to college before, but I wanted to study agriculture, so I entered the Department of Agricultural Economics at Hokkaido Dairy Gakuen University.
I thought, "I want to work in agriculture in the future," but it was not limited to "farmer," so I explored various paths for four years.
While in school, I made up my mind to become a teacher at an agricultural high school, obtained a teaching qualification, and did some teaching practice.
However, as I studied agriculture for my certification, I realized anew the breadth of agriculture and the depth of each of its aspects.
When I thought about teaching, I felt that I had not studied enough to teach "this is agriculture.

From there, I decided to go to a farm to study agriculture.
While I was allowed to live and work there during all of my long university vacations, I thought, "I think farming and communicating as a farm teacher would suit me," and decided to make a major change in direction and become a farmer after passing the first round of the teacher employment examinations.

Reasons for choosing Sobetsu-cho

I chose Sobetsu-cho because I wanted to be a farmer all year round.
In some areas where the snow and cold are severe, people have to go out to work in the winter, but I wanted to be able to grow crops all year round. I decided to choose an area in "Southern Hokkaido," and went to consult with several municipalities about farming.

I was always asked if I had any personal funds and if I had a spouse.
However, I had been training as an agricultural trainee for two years on a salary of about 100,000 yen per month, so I was not in an environment where I could save any money, and I had no savings.
I was not in an environment where I could save money, and I had no savings. I saw the reality that I could not start farming without personal funds, and I thought about saving money for a few years.

However, I was 23 years old at the time 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 I did it for 80 years, I would only be able to experience it about 50 times.
I had a goal of becoming a master farmer in the future, so I wanted to start farming and train as soon as possible, so I was looking for a town where I could start without any personal funds.

That's when I went to the farming office in Sobetsu Town to ask for advice.
Until then, they had only asked me about money and my spouse, but in Sobetsu Town, they bought my motivation and youthfulness and told me, "If you are willing to do it, go ahead and start. After that, I found a master and was able to become a farmer at the age of 24, and I have been farming for 11 years since then.

Difficulties

I have been selling the fact that I started without any personal funds, but I had a very hard time, so I advise people who come to me for advice that they should definitely save up some personal funds before starting out.
Very few people succeed from the very beginning, and there was a time when I too made a lot of mistakes and had to make do without food or shelter.

There were also times when I caused my wife a lot of trouble by not separating my work and life time.
We had four children, and my wife was busy with childbirth and child rearing, so there were times when I had to do most of the work on the farm by myself.
I felt that this was not good enough, so I made some trial-and-error efforts to improve the situation.

Rewarding and attractive aspects of farming

I think it is very good that I can live my own time and that my life and work are integrated.
However, I did not have time to think about that for about 4-5 years after I started farming.

The reason why I have been able to do it despite many difficulties is because of the help of the people of Sobetsu Town.
Sobetsu-cho is a small town, so when a "new farmer comes," it stands out, and everyone in the community knows about you, but you don't know anything about them.
I didn't want that situation to continue, so I made it a point to show up at all kinds of gatherings and meetings in the town.
I became acquainted with everyone in the town, including many farmer-teachers, who lent me their machines and taught me many things. Thanks to them, I was able to produce good rice this year when I tried rice for the first time.

Even people who are not farmers buy our rice and vegetables, and they have helped us throughout the years.
So I think the most important thing for a new farmer is to integrate into the community.

Also, at Daisaku Farm, we pick mini-tomatoes because we want to interact with consumers.
Even in 2020, the year of the Corona disaster, the number of people coming to the farm is increasing, and I find that rewarding as well.

Conclusion

For this interview, we spoke with two farmers, Mr. Kuho, who started farming in Kuriyama-cho, and Mr. Kimura, who started farming in Sobetsu-cho.
Both of them are very proud of their farming jobs and feel a strong sense of fulfillment.
If you are interested in working in agriculture in Hokkaido, why don't you try participating in online events or consulting with local municipalities to materialize your dream one step at a time?

The next "Job Salon in the Northern Land", the theme will be "Fishery".
It will be held on Saturday, December 19, from 14:00. Please sign up here!

The 3rd Northern Land Job Salon: Fishery
To sign up, please click on this image.