Agriculture This Week: Day focuses on importance of farm sector

YORKTON - So Feb.15, is Ag Day in Canada.

That should mean something, or at least from the perspective of someone living in a Canadian province where agriculture is the foundation of our existence, and still is a key economic driver.

And, of course we should never lose sight of the importance of farming in terms of keeping our world fed.

But, the reality is that even in a locale such as Saskatchewan, there is a growing disconnect by many from the realities of farming.

In recent years how farmers fertilize, how they spray for weeds and pests, how cattle pass gas as they graze land some suggest should be growing grain for human consumption, and even the exhaust from machinery used to grow that food, have been seen as bugaboos by at least some.

And, in today’s world ‘some’ even a very small ‘some’ can create a rather loud social media voice which can put more focus on something than might be warranted if one checked the science, or just applied some common sense.

That said, having a forum to broach concerns is not in itself a bugaboo of its own. Taking a closer look at how we do things in this world is not a bad idea in itself, and certainly we can point to a long list of human interactions with our natural world which have been disastrous, and may well get worse moving forward.

But in terms of agriculture, we do need to remember the shelves in the local supermarket would be empty if not for the efforts of farmers.

That doesn’t mean they should be able to do anything they want in terms of operating a farm, but what they need to succeed in feeding us should be understood too.

That is the hope of Ag Day.

As John Jamieson, CCFI President and CEO noted at ofa.on.ca, “this is an ideal opportunity for everyone to learn more about where their food comes from while getting to know the people who produce it. I encourage all Canadians to join the agri-food community online to have these important conversations about food and agriculture.”

The question though is whether people will even be aware of the day, and if they are, do they make an effort to start re-connecting with farmers and farming?

And, just how do you make a re-connection?

There is the Internet, but a more personal connection, getting to know a farmer would be better. It might surprise some that farmers are just trying to make a living feeding the rest of us in the best way they can.