The country’s agriculture industry is being celebrated today
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Thursday, Feb. 16 is recognized as Canada’s first Agriculture Day.
Across social media, in classrooms and everywhere in between, the country’s agriculture industry is celebrating all that agriculture provides.
Farms.com reached out to members of Canada’s agriculture industry to ask them a simple question: What does Canadian Agriculture Day mean to you?
“It means celebrating our life’s work and each other,” Amy Matheson, a dairy farmer from Oxford County, Ont., told Farms.com. “It means thanking consumers for following our stories and making us proud to produce quality ag products.”
Melissa Stanford, a crop producer from Alberta, said the day is largely about food.
“The products that link consumers and producers,” she said. “And (it’s about) nurturing true dialogue, not only story telling.”
David Simmons, a dairy farmer from Little Rapids, Newfoundland, said the day allows for mainstream media to focus heavily on the industry.
“Though our operation is an open book, (the celebration) means we have (lots of) media coverage to share our lives and passion today.”
Harold MacNevin, chairman of Dairy Farmers of Prince Edward Island, said the day allows agriculture to be put in the spotlight when it comes to economic contributions.
“It recognizes the importance of agriculture in the country and what it does for the economy and GDP,” he said. “It’s a very important industry in Canada.”
Andrew Nixon, project coordinator for the Ontario Hazelnut Association, said the day lets consumers know how sophisticated agriculture is.
“Lots of people think of agriculture as farmers and pitchforks,” he said. “That’s really not the case in 2017 – especially when you look at precision agriculture. The jobs are as diverse as the crops are. I feel fortunate to be part of the industry.”
Use the hashtag #CdnAgDay to learn about the celebrations across the country.