Alta. dairy farmer part of local food campaign

Jason Crozier’s farm is featured in Alberta Milk’s Farm to Table campaign

An Alberta dairy farmer is one of the faces behind a new local food campaign.

Jason Crozier, a fifth-generation farmer at Cheslen Dairies in Sturgeon County, a 1,500-acre operation including crops and about 190 cows, is part of Alberta Milk’s Farm to Table campaign.

“I think it’s important to help the industry tell our stories because people are so far removed from the farm,” he told Farms.com.

The percentage of farmers making up the Canadian population has decreased over time.

Between 1971 and 2021, Canada’s farm population has decreased by more than 62 per cent, Statistics Canada says.

In 2021, Canada’s farm population accounted for 1.6 per cent of the total population.

“Nowadays people aren’t really aware of where their food comes from, and as producers we should be helping the public understand we’re producing food in their backyards, and they don’t have to go far to find fresh and local food,” Crozier said.

A short video for the campaign sees Chef Blair Lebsack, co-owner of Edmonton’s RGE RD restaurant, visit Crozier’s farm and talk about local food and agriculture.

“Spending time with Jason on the farm reminded me how much care goes into the ingredients we use every day,” Lebsack said in an Alberta Milk press release. “We’re incredibly lucky to have such amazing food produced right here in Alberta.”

And Crozier got to see how much care Lebsack puts into using the ingredients.

The chef prepared multiple dishes for the family to enjoy on the farm.

“Everything he brought was local, and as he worked you could see the respect he has for the ingredients,” Crozier said. “Farmers have that same respect for the land and animals we work with.”