By Rejean Pommainville, Board Member, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Storytelling has become the preferred method for talking about the agriculture industry, especially with our consumers who have less and less connections to agriculture. The faces and stories of real farmers are populating marketing campaigns for eggs, milk and more, as authentic spokespeople for our industry.
YouTube and social media present novel opportunities to get the view and views of farming before an otherwise disengaged audience.
And for the second year in a row, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is encouraging members to have a little fun and put themselves in the storytelling spotlight with its 2015 'Reel' Farm Video Challenge.
The video challenge grew up from a grassroots initiative, originating in Bruce County, with support from several local federations this year in Simcoe County, Perth County and Lanark. The initiative is hosted by OFA’s Proud to Lead team with support from Farm Credit Canada.
The premise is simple. And the idea is to have fun while informing about farming and farmers.
We want to know why you are proud to be an Ontario farmer. But don’t just tell us. Rant it or sing it. Videos can be a positive, agricultural rant-style video or a farm-themed music parody. After that, get as creative as you can with the content.
Videos must be submitted to OFA by October 15, and winning entries in each of the two categories are up for $1,000 first place cash prizes. All the details are available at ofa.on.ca/videochallenge, where you can also see last year’s winning entries for a little inspiration.
So get out your smart phone. Turn on your agricultural charm. And tell a story about why you are proud to be a farmer in Ontario.
Source: OFA