Outstanding Young Farmer Lydia Ryall gets her organic vegetables into the hands of her grateful customers 12 months of the year.
Lydia Ryall, the 2014 Outstanding Young Farmer nominee for the B.C./Yukon region grows vegetables and pastures a flock of 100 laying hens on her 10 acre certified organic farm on Westham Island off the B.C. west coast.
From a young age, she knew she wanted to be a farmer. She kept her eyes on that goal through a diploma in agricultural production at Olds College, a B.Sc. in agriculture at the University of Lethbridge and a job with Alberta Agriculture and Rural .
Ryall began her farming career in 2009, growing a market garden on a corner of her parents’ South Delta on B.C. lower mainland property. While she liked the gardening part, she wasn’t prepared to take over the family’s 18-acre vegetable greenhouse.