Young farmers launch social media campaign

Friday, April 12, 2013

by DIANNE FETTERLY

A group of young farmers from across the province has taken to social media to educate the public on how their food is produced.

“We hope to reach as many people as possible . . .  We’re especially trying to reach a younger demographic,” said Middlesex-area dairy farmer Andrew Campbell, who has assembled the group of farmers and farm workers devoted to advocating agriculture. The group launched its campaign, “Dinner Starts Here” during Food and Farm Care Ontario’s annual meeting held April 3.

According to Campbell, the campaign utilizes Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to connect with consumers and will also feature a blog component for more detailed and in-depth discussion. The group is working with a number of agricultural groups as sources of information.

“It is hoped that people will raise questions about where their food comes from and we can try to build a relationship with them,” he explained.

However, if people do not pose questions, team members will come up with their own topics that they feel people are interested in. They will chat about their industry and talk about their day-to-day operations on the farm. There should be no shortage of topics, Campbell added.

The campaign team consists of nine young volunteers, all under the age of 30 and all recently graduated or graduating from a post-secondary institution. They all have a goal to work full-time in farming and are a good example of who today’s young farmers are. And with members from southwestern to eastern Ontario, the group also represents most geographical areas of the province as well as varied commodity groups. Campbell said he would still like to add one of two more members to the team so all commodity groups are represented.

Campbell said he came up with the idea for the project while speaking to farm groups about using social media to educate the public about agriculture. He said he felt it would work better as a team effort and assembled the group to cover as many sectors of agriculture as possible.

And while the project requires a commitment and some time from the volunteers, it does not take a lot of investment.

Besides Campbell, the Dinner Starts Here team consists of Stephanie Campbell of Perth, eggs and grains production; Erin Leduc from Moose Creek, grains and seed sales; Erin McLean of Lakefield, fruits and vegetables production; Justin Williams from Bloomfield, dairy farming and maple syrup production; Scott Snyder of Winterbourne, beef and crops production and custom work; Jacob Pelissero of St. Ann’s, egg production; Sarah Brien from Ridgetown, sheep farming and Stephanie Kowalski of Glencairn, potato production.

Campbell sees the initiative as positive for agriculture and hopes farmers like it as well. And while it’s just getting started, families of those participating in the project have been very supportive. The group has also received support from a number of agricultural associations, he explained.

For further information, interested parties can check out the website. BF