Farmers Feed People #WhereFoodComesFrom Sustainability #Ag
The leaves have started turning, our days are getting shorter and harvest just wrapped up around the farm for many crop farmers. As farmers, we look forward to seeding and harvest time every year. With spring comes sunshine, warmth and new growth. It amazes me to watch the big seeders move in and seem to take over the countryside, work through the night for days, all in hopes that they get that crop seeded before the weather turns and before you know it the seeders move out as quickly as they came in. All season we watch as the seed turns into crop, some years better than others and usually at the whim of the every-changing weather, sunrise to sunset and fully ripen right before fall comes upon us and harvest time begins. As a mom to 5 kids it’s important for me to know where the food I put into my families mouth comes from and how hard the folks work to bring food to my table. Being encompassed in a farming community we know that Agriculture is a highly respected industry in Canada but do most of you really know much about it?
Where Does YOUR Food Come From?
The perception of farming is shrouded in mystery. – Mike Reid, Sustainabiliy – Feeding the World
Living in a city it’s hard to fully understand the connection from seed to plate; you walk into the grocery store, gather fresh foods in a cart that you need to prepare meals and move on. There is a mystery to the connection, one most people don’t put a lot of thought into.
A label of organic does not necessarily mean sustainability. Organic grain farming on a larger scale can be hard on the soil. Here on the farm we have a small gardening plot, large enough to feed our family and loved ones around us without the use of added pesticides or chemicals but in order to keep the plot producing enough nutrients in the soil for a good bounty every year, we have to be vigilant in weed control, working the soil, rotation and natural fertilization at the beginning and end of the season. On a large scale, organic grain farming would not feed the world.
True sustainability is soil health for the long run, for future generations. – Brian Vandervalk, Sustainabiliy – Feeding the World
We may not be an international company but we produce international food. – Dan Roncera, Sustainability – Meeting Customer Needs
We all want to feed our family the best food out there but do you really know #WhereFoodComesFrom? Farming is a lifestyle by folks working hard to bring food to your table. I love this simple statement from Dan Roncera; farmers are usually made up from generations of family, a lifestyle to bring your family quality food most of us take for granted every day.
Educate Yourself and Family
Tune in TOMORROW at 12:00 pm ET to CTV’s Canadian Better Living program where a special on agriculture as told straight from some of Canada’s farmers is airing and please spread the word to ask friends and family to watch this important episode.
CTV has spoken with a leader in the farming industry, BASF Canada, who invited regular consumers out to typical farms across the country to ask real farmers how they do what they do. These discussions helped to bridge the gap between consumer perceptions and farming realities that many Canadians just don’t get access to every day. They were filmed as part of a YouTube series on the BSAF Ag Solutions YouTube channel where you can meet farmers, learn about where your food truly comes from and how regular farming is 99% the worlds production.
Do you have farmers coming into your childs school or have you been on a field trip to see what a food farming operation is really about?
Follow along on the #WhereFoodComesFrom hashtag via Twitter to learn more about farming and how food makes it from soil to your table.
