'Coffee Shop Talks' hosted by Sask Wheat helps farmers network with industry experts

The latest ‘Coffee Shop Talks’ event hosted by Sask. Wheat took place Nov. 1 at the Sportsman’s Centre in Moose Jaw, allowing local agriculture producers the chance to speak directly with industry experts, voice their concerns, and receive immediate feedback.

The event proved to be popular with around 80 people in attendance, and Moose Jaw witnessed the largest iteration of the workshop so far.

“We’re excited that we had a good turnout,” said Montana Getty, communication and events coordinator with the Sask. Wheat Development Commission (Sask. Wheat). “We’re only hoping they get bigger from here on out.”

The recent event trialled a new format in response to feedback from two earlier talks in March 2023. At these earlier events, the talk was set up in a classroom style and saw a panel of five or six people provide information at the front of the room. After around 45 minutes, the format changed to one-on-one conversations.

Getty said the latest event sought to make the format a lot less formal.

“You get to sit down and it’s almost like having coffee with your friends and talking about the issues that you have on your own farm, but you get to talk about those issues with the experts who can actually help you with them and have a coffee and relax,” she said.

The new format included two industry experts seated at each table, and farmers moved from table to table after a 10-minute talk. Each expert introduced themselves and spoke about their field, and a later open-floor discussion let farmers talk directly to the most relevant specialists.  

Feedback from the event has been generally positive.

“It’s always good, and you get to meet a lot of people in the industry and hear what they have to say,” explained agriculture producer Nathan Bean.