In this episode, my guest is Robin Tunnicliffe – vegetable farmer and co-owner of Sea Bluff Farm in Saanich, Vancouver Island. Robin was one of the attendees at a workshop I held in Saanich over a decade ago, and today, we discuss her journey from not knowing where to start to now owning equity as a non-family farm member.
We discuss Robin’s transition from farm apprentice to farm owner and the challenges she faced along the way, including making sure everyone was on board during all the phases of transition. We also talk about how Robin’s husband, Sasha, played an instrumental role in the success of the transition, as well as the power of written agreements.
This is a must-listen for anyone interested in non-related joint venture farming.
“Sasha and I were trying to lay the groundwork to make sure that everybody [was on board]. We didn’t want to take advantage of a vulnerable event. That’s just not what it was about. It was about farming. The legacy of Bob is this community gesture that we have this farm that’s producing a ton of food for the community. We would not be here if it wasn’t for Bob.” -Robin Tunnicliffe
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- COACHING – find your Farm Transition Coach
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- RESOURCES – download for FREE
- CONTACT – take the next steps in your transition
- BURNING QUESTION? Submit it here for Elaine or her coaches
About Our Guest
They say Robin would be in a casino if she wasn’t on the land. She’s a born gambler, pushing planting dates to their extremes.
Over her 24 years in the business, she’s mostly come up on top with year-round salad greens, cilantro in December, radishes in January, and an abundance of beautiful produce all year round. She’s been managing Sea Bluff since 2013. She has an M.A. in Food Policy from UVic, she’s a published author, she’s chair of the Metchosin Agricultural Advisory committee, and she sits on other regional agriculture committees.
When not farming, she can be found swimming at Matheson Lake.
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Timestamps
[0:00:30] Introduction to Robin Tunnicliffe
[0:02:45] The story behind Sea Bluff
[0:04:59] How Robin became part of the farm as a non-family member
[0:06:04] What culture means when it comes to the farm
[0:07:01] The power of written agreements
[0:09:56] When Robin actually secured equity in the farm – the tipping point
[0:12:58] Making sure everyone was in agreement
[0:14:43] Robin’s succession plan
[0:16:28] The benefits of becoming incorporated
[0:17:04] The Legacy of Sea Bluff
[0:19:31] Finding other channels of profitability
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