Saying thanks has its benefits

Thursday, April 4, 2013

When Ontario farmers donated hay to drought-stricken Western Canadian farmers about 10 years ago as part of a grassroots campaign called Hay West, they noticed that no one ever said "thank you."

So this time around organizers of the voluntary, farmer-led program to move donated hay from Saskatchewan and Alberta to Ontario, called Hay East, decided to do better.

During Hay West, the Ontario-donated hay was mainly transported by railway. This time, trucks were used to move the big, round 1,500-pound bales from Western farms directly to Ontario farms. "We've encouraged any donor to write a personal note and send it with their hay," says Hay East media co-ordinator Aj Thakker of Regina.

Donors who received thank-you calls were so moved they ended up donating additional bales. Some Western farmers have received invitations from Ontario farmers to visit.  

One of the first things beef producers Warren Leitch and his wife, Lori McRae Leitch of Almonte did when they unloaded donated hay on their farm last fall was to call the donor and thank him.

Lori says she got the cell number of the donor, David Wagman of Leader, Sask., from the truck driver. "I phoned the guy and got him in the middle of harvesting," she says. "He and his wife phoned back later that evening and they were impressed that somebody bothered to phone back." Turns out Wagman received hay 10 years ago; the donation is paying back a debt. BF