Many people living east of Manitoba don’t know what an acreage is. It’s not a word they use to describe “beyond the burbs” properties larger than a city lot but smaller than a farm. Instead they favour “country place” or “country property,” or even “farm,” albeit a farm in name only.
So we’re educating them.
In April 2005, The Western Producer launched a magazine especially for acreage owners.
Acreage Life is dedicated to helping them enhance their country lifestyles by providing information on gardening, nature and various types of home and property improvement.
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The magazine is now distributed to about 75,000 readers from British Columbia to Ontario, primarily in areas within about 100 kilometres of major cities.
We’re gradually familiarizing our eastern readers with the meaning of “acreage” and we’re getting positive response from people across Canada.
Such a magazine is a good fit for us here at the Producer. We report constantly on various aspects of country living in relation to farming and ranching. That’s acreage life on a large scale.
Country living on a smaller scale, focusing on the house, yard, garden and pets, is a bit different but near the same ballpark.
Some Acreage Life articles are designed to help people who are new to country life. Which weeds are the bad weeds? How do I maintain a well? Is there any way to limit deer damage to the yard and garden?
Other articles are aimed at longer-term acreage owners who want to undertake projects like establishing an asparagus bed, erecting a doghouse or installing geothermal heat.
Every issue features an acreage somewhere in Canada (sometimes belonging to celebrities – we’ve featured Wendel Clark and Chad Kroeger) and every issue has columns on food, gardening and nature.
Some Acreage Life content might seem basic to Western Producer readers, which is one of the reasons our newest publication has remained a separate entity.
On the other hand, farmers and ranchers essentially have an acreage within their acres – the house and yard on the home quarter. Home and yard improvement ideas are part and parcel of rural living.
So, it seems likely that Acreage Life content may appeal to Producer readers too.
You’ll be the judge of that, of course, and you can find details about a special subscription offer on page 69.
We asked Acreage Life readers what term they used to describe their property. One reader had a response to which we can all relate. She called their place the backacher.
