By Alice McFarlane

Saskatchewan Agriculture Month – an opportunity for farmers to connect with urbanites

Oct 7, 2020 | 2:46 PM

MELFORT, Sask. — It’s important for people who grow food to reach out to those who eat it.

October is Agriculture Month in Saskatchewan.

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan executive director Clinton Monchuk said one of the goals of the celebration is to generate authentic conversations between urban residents and the farmers and ranchers who grow crops and raise livestock.

“We’ve seen a lot more discussions with consumers and people who are interested in knowing how their food is actually made, processed and distributed around the country,” Monchuk said. “We’ve had quite a few more inquiries at Farm and Food Care asking for information about certain aspects of grain farming or livestock farming. I think it’s great consumers are taking that initiative to start asking questions.”

Monchuk said farmers are finding new and interesting ways to make a connection. He said a Naicam area farmer live-streamed videos on Reddit showing how peas and canola were combined. He also answered questions from people who had never seen a combine in operation.

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Monchuk said it is great that farmers and ranchers are taking the initiative to do these live events where they can answer questions. It’s also encouraging that consumers are going to the source of who is growing your food.

“It’s something we didn’t see five to ten years ago. I think more and more are doing this. It’s creating more dialogue and more truthful conversations about what’s happening,” he said.

Monchuk encouraged any farmer or rancher to take the opportunity to connect whether it is on social media using the #CelebrateAg or video chat with students because the pandemic has made it difficult to hold public events.

“Typically, we have a barbeque or event at a grocery store. That’s not going to happen this year because of the social distancing rules. As a result, it has created an opportunity to do more online,” Monchuk said. “We’re promoting #CelebrateAg for people to post different stories of what they’re doing either as a farmer or rancher or consumers just posting pictures about their food.”

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan will host several Facebook live tours this month including one on a chicken farm.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF