A small-scale mixed vegetable and cut flower farm, located in Scotsburn of Pictou County, Nova Scotia features in a short YouTube documentary. Kelter Butler and her partner Michael Coolican are owners and operators of Small Holdings Farm.
The small documentary is directed by Monica Rivers and is almost 19 minutes. It is part of Dalhousie AC’s Films for Change, showcasing local women and their achievements in the agriculture industry.
In Canada, the proportion of female farm operators has increased over the past 20 years. According to Statistics Canada, females represented 25.3% of farm operators in 1996. By 2016, the proportion has risen to 28.7%, accounting for 77,830 female farm operators.
“I hope that people take away that the agriculture industry is not only for men,” says Rivers. “Women can play a big role in the operations of a farm.”
In River’s film, Butler discusses a Maritime group of female farmers who try and get together once a year to spend a few days together. During the wintertime, the group more often discusses issues that tend to be female-centred, such as motherhood and how to communicate with their parents.
The documentary also explores topics such as how Small Holdings Farm got its start, how Butler and Coolican have connected with the community and how they are helping those facing food insecurity. Their local families initiative, which started in the early days of the pandemic, fundraises, and uses the donations from the community to provide vegetables to families in need.
Butler and Coolican share that seeing all their regulars, as well as other customers, is a big part of what fuels their love of farming.
“Hopefully things that come across to people is that we are really happy to be part of this community,” shares Butler. “To have landed here in Pictou County and to feel increasingly folded into this place - it’s certainly very hard work, but we love what we do.”
Butler and Coolican hope the film inspire people to not only seek out small farms in their areas, but for more people to start small farms as well.
Small Holdings Farm_Monica Rivers
By Aggies Abroad on YouTube
More about Monica Rivers
Rivers is the leader of Dalhousie’s photography club, which she reinstated during her studies. She was approached to join the project last year during the last semester of her degree.
River’s film was one of four to premier during international development week this year. Aside from the training Rivers received from industry experts, she also used skills developed from being a member of the Scotsburn-Northumberland Amateur Photography Society, as well as her own research.
“The project was created with the purpose of connecting youth with women leaders in the Atlantic Region by giving them the opportunity to explore gender within the agriculture industry through film-making,” says Rivers.