If you read our blog, our saw the article in our July newsletter, then you know that Megan was working for LAFS this summer as our Loans and Grants assistant. Here is a little bit about what she accomplished!
Megan was able to get funding from the SLRD for Lillooet Food Matters’ Mushroom workshop that happened at the end of August/beginning of September. The event was a great success, you can read more about it on Lillooet Food Matters blog here.
The major summer project was a BC Community Gaming Grant application. We applied for funding to cover more education and outreach, and workshops for 2020. This proved to be quite the project!
Megan also applied for a Nutrition Link grant specifically for workshops. The plan is to run a series of food preservation workshops next summer if we are successful. Workshops would follow the fruit, with a July workshop about preserving apricots, an August workshop about preserving peaches and a fall workshop for apples, plums and pears.
Part of the job this summer was to connect local producers with funding opportunities available to them. Megan reached out to several farms, and did lots of research on programs and funding available.
We were looking into funding to have a workshop/forum with keynote speakers at the end of the year. Topics would be on aspects of a food hub, for example, having someone speak on running a co-op and another speaking on distributing products as a group. Andrea Harris from the BC Co-Op Association is keen to come and speak here in Lillooet, and we are planning to collaborate with our Community Coordinator to hold the event late this fall.
A big thank you to Megan for all of her work applying, connecting with people and researching for LAFS this summer!
“It has been a pleasure working for LAFS these past few months. I have enjoyed playing part in the inner workings of the society and seeing what is being done in our local community to support and enhance the agricultural industry. I only hope that my small role has made a valuable contribution, and that LAFS continues to be able to offer support to local farmers and a connection to the general population.” – Megan
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
I was raised on the ranch we currently own and operate. When I was a kid the ranch was a small homestead. We had goats, a milk cow, horses, chickens and and a huge garden. We grew most of our own food and seldom went to town. We did not have TV or even radio. National Geographic was our window to the world. My brothers and sister and I were homeschooled until high school. We had horses and rode everywhere. In 2002 my husband Phil (who came here from England in 1998) and I started turning it from a homestead into a working ranch. It is still a work in progress. We are still off-grid and in the boonies. We are 75km from Lillooet in the Bridge River Valley. We raised our two daughters, Megan and Jade (who are an indispensable part of our operation) here and I homeschooled them here until highschool.
Can you tell us about your farming practices?
We focus on raising hereford/angus beef cattle. We also have some lamb and pigs for our own use with any excess going to friends and family. We started out with 4 cows that my mom had owned. From there we slowly built up our own herd. Buying some cows here and there. Then we started raising our own replacement heifers and bought good quality bulls. We started out with very little machinery, so we used a team of horses for years (and still have a team) for a lot of work. As time went on we cleared more land, got more machinery, built a hayshed, fenced and cross-fenced our ranch, and started growing some of our own hay (the rest we buy from local ranchers). We have a large cattle range that we carefully manage. We focus on making sure the biodiversity is maintained, which helps keep predators from becoming a problem. We use horses and cattle dogs to move our cattle over our range in a circular pattern – they move from our spring range up to the summer range and back around in a circle so that by fall they are back near the ranch and they are easily moved home. On the ranch we try to maintain and improve our grass and forage crops.
When did you get involved with LAFS and why?
I was invited by Jacquie Rassmussen to join LAFS at its inception. I was part of the AAC at the time. I felt that it was important for our area to have a stronger agricultural voice.
Where are your products sold?
We are a cow calf operation. We sell our calves in the fall through the BC Livestock Co-op in Kamloops. It is a rancher owned and operated market.
What are your future plans?
We would like to expand our hay production, increase our infrastructure, continue to raise quality beef and become more self-sufficient so that eventually our daughters may be able to take over the operation.
Hello everyone! My name is Megan Meservia and I am proud to be joining the LAFS team as Loans Grants Administrative Assistant.
As many of you may know, I was born and raised in the Lillooet area on a family owned and operated cattle ranch, where I still help out whenever possible and have a few of my own cow/calf pairs. In 2016 I graduated from Retail Meat Processing at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. I then went on to work as a meatcutter in a retail butcher shop there, before returning home to Lillooet. I have seen a cow go from a calf on the farm to a steak on the plate and understand the many challenges that those in agriculture face trying to get their products to the consumer, whether that be livestock or crops.
I have a great love for agriculture and a deep respect for those working in the industry. Farmers and ranchers are some of the most hardworking, innovative and resilient people I know, and face challenges on a daily basis. As Loans & Grants Administrative Assistant, I hope to help ease some of these challenges by assisting producers in connecting and applying to the many resources available to them, especially those looking to assist their businesses with funding in the form of grants.
I look forward to meeting and working with everyone, as well as continuing to see agriculture grow and prosper in our community!
You can reach Megan through our 
Hello LAFS community! I am Wren Kerslake, I have been hired for the summer to be the new Gleaning Program Coordinator for the Lillooet Agriculture and Food Society.
Although I grew up in Lillooet, I have been away for the last two years living in Victoria to finish high school. I am very happy to be back in my home town, and I look forward to reconnecting with the people of Lillooet and meeting the new-comers. While I finished high school, I gained experience working with non-profit organizations in Victoria as a youth leader. I was inspired by the many different initiatives I experienced during my time away and I am excited to become a part of one in my own community.
I grew up on a farm outside Lillooet, and spent a large part of my life weeding, picking fruit, and running around the Farmer’s Market. I have always loved the tradition of sharing food with friends and neighbours. I look forward to developing a system for continuing this wonderful practice. I am happy to be back home for the summer and working in a job to help the lovely community of Lillooet grow and prosper.
To contact Wren, you can reach her on the 
