Potato Growers of Alberta has launched a video series as a way to develop public awareness and trust in the province’s potato industry.
“That was our intent. Every commodity group right now is going through this (raising public awareness), but at the end of the day, it’s people putting their heart and soul into what they love doing, trying to feed people. That is agriculture, period,” said executive director Terence Hochstein.
The video series, called The Story of Us: Alberta Potato Growers, was made collecting footage from five potato farmers from across Alberta over several months.
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The first in the series, The Seed: Where It All Begins, was expected to be released in late March. It will be distributed to farm groups, businesses, government and schools.
“The more we can get this out to the general public the better. It’s geared towards the general public. We know what we do and even other commodity groups don’t necessarily know what we do. That is sort of why we focused on the seed piece as the basis of the entire industry,” said Hochstein.
“Most people don’t know that it takes seven years of breeding before it gets into the commercial stream. When you start from the plant right on up, it takes a lot of years.”
Also planned is a water video explaining why the precious resource is so important for the success of the potato industry in Alberta, and how the most advanced irrigation systems in the world are being used.
Hochstein collaborated with David Westwood, general manager of the St. Mary River Irrigation District, who narrates the water video.
“That one will probably not come out until in-season irrigation because we have a little more footage we want to capture. That was a message I wanted to get out to the general public, right back from the mountains right to the field,” said Hochstein.
PGA’s board of directors conducted a new strategic planning session, and two of the goals that came out of that exercise were proactively building and maintaining public awareness and trust in Alberta’s potato industry, and to cultivate and enhance trust through collaborative and transparent engagement.
The short vignettes bring awareness about the background and history, technology and advancements, community and the many challenges the potato industry faces throughout the year.
