Increased Social Media Interactions Help Close the Gap Between Farmers and Consumers

The Executive Director of Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan suggests, if everyone involved in agriculture pitches in, we can succeed in sharing the story of how food is produced in this country with those who are buying that food. Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan was formed in 2014 to engage with consumers and ensure those interested in how their food is produced have a truthful verifiable way to get that information.

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan Executive Director Clinton Monchuck says only 1.6 percent of Canada's population is now actively engaged in primary production.

Quote-Clinton Monchuck-Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan:

I think you can see that the writing is on the wall in other countries where that disconnect became too great. The connection between the grassroots farmers and those who are consuming the product became too great, where the understanding wasn't necessarily as well known as it should be. It begs the question what can we do to make sure that consumers, if they do have questions, we provide answers for them and that's where Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan or Canadian Food Focus comes into play.

I think that's why a lot of farm groups, the farmers themselves, see what were doing as beneficial for the entire industry. I look at my own farm, no different than any other farm in Saskatchewan. We're a family farm. My great grandfather started farming across the road from where our farm currently is back in 1906. 

I have a son, I have a daughter. I want to make sure that they have that opportunity to grow food on this farm in a similar manner that uses new technologies, new advancements in science and, if that's limited, it severely limits their ability to be a profitable and a successful sustainable farm. That's what we're trying to get across.

If we all do our part, we can do more and people are starting to see the benefit of that and definitely supporting us a larger degree now.

Monchuck says consumers have always had questions but, in the past, they were answered in different venues. He says there is now a growing recognition that farmers need to be a little bit more proactive when it comes to social media.