WINNIPEG – Country Canada, this country’s longest running television program, celebrated 40 years on the air last week.
The program, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation out of Winnipeg, is the only national television program dealing with agricultural and rural issues.
As guests celebrated at a reception last week, host Sandy Cushon said the program has survived because, like farmers, it has changed with the times.
It first went to air in 1954 with items espousing the benefits of fertilizer and demonstrations of good etiquette for young women.
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Over the last 40 years it has evolved from providing practical farming tips, to covering the issues affecting agriculture, to bridging the gap between an urban-based society and its rural roots.
“Part of reason it survives is there’s been a very large support for public broadcasting from the farm community.”
But Cushon said the reality is that 80 percent of the program’s viewers are urbanites who are hungry for an understanding of food-related issues. The tricky part is serving both audiences.
“We don’t want to be in the position of saying this is a cow, you get milk from a cow,”Cushon said. “We have to say, this is the dairy industry and right now it’s facing an issue over something called BST.”
