Canadian Food Focus hosted its annual Farm & Food Tour in Saskatchewan this summer. The intent of this program is to build relationships with health professionals, chefs, culinary educators, food writers, content creators and others who influence food choices.
Showing what it’s like on Saskatchewan farms
Our invited guests had the opportunity to experience working farms and ranches and to speak directly with the people who produce food. This year’s tour included visits to wheat, canola and lentil fields, a cattle pasture, a dairy farm, a creamery, and an agricultural research laboratory. The group visited Wanuskewin Heritage Park, a National Historic Site and archeological dig and enjoyed meals throughout the tour that showcased Canadian-grown foods and traditions. We missed touring the provincial egg processing plant due to a power outage caused by a sudden Prairie storm.
In addition to field trips, participants also took part in seminars and question and answer sessions. Topics included Agriculture 101; pesticides and plant genetic engineering; virtual tour of a chicken barn; and live video tour of swine research facility, as well as a conversation about how Canadian Food Focus is on a mission to build food and farm literacy.
Changing how people view the ag sector
Just over a third of our attendees indicated they had visited less than three farms in their lives. Many guests wanted to learn more about farm practices, climate change, soil health, disease preparedness, habitat conservation, trade impacts on farming and the urban-rural divide.
The tour succeeded in impacting guests’ sentiment about agriculture. Surveys were conducted with participants both before and after the tour, with results as follows:
- In answer to the question “What is your overall impression of farming and food production in Canada?” responses showed 6.2% “Somewhat Negative”, 12.5% Neutral and 25% “Somewhat Positive” before the tour to 80% “Very Positive” following the tour.
- Tour guests also felt the experience greatly impacted how informed they felt about agriculture. Before the tour, 62% of respondents reported they felt either ‘Slightly’ or ‘Somewhat’ informed’; whereas after the tour 70% felt ‘Well informed’ and 20% felt ‘Very well informed’ about farming practices.
Feedback from participants
- “I gained a much better understanding of the safe practices that Canadian farmers follow. Hearing and seeing it directly from the source gave me confidence in how food is being handled.”
- “Before this tour my exposure to farmers and food production at the farm level was very limited. The care and passion of the presenters I met was very inspiring.”
- “It was incredible to see farming firsthand from the people who live and breath it every day. Being on the ground and speaking directly with farmers gave me a completely different perspective that I could never have gotten from reading about it online.”
We are pleased to see guests already reaching out to since the tour to answer additional questions and work together on other projects.
Thanks to our tour partners
An event like this is only possible thanks to generous support from our partners. Their collaboration enables us to provide exceptional learning opportunities for influencers, and support food literacy across Canada. Thanks to CropLife Canada, Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Egg Producers, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, SaskWheat, Saskatchewan Cattle Association, Sask Pork, SaskMilk, Sask Oilseeds, and Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.
Together, we are building strong, authentic relationships between farmers and influencers.
Canadian Food Focus Heads To Ottawa