How time flies.
I realized when I attended the Farming Smarter conference earlier this year that it was the second time I had done so.
February marked my one-year anniversary working for Glacier FarmMedia, writing primarily for The Western Producer and Alberta Farmer Express.
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My name tag was handed to me without asking me my name, considering I’m now a a familiar face at Farming Smarter’s events, including their field days.
A producer shook my hand in the food line at the recent Holistic Management Conference in Taber, Alta., who I had met at an earlier presentation in Bow Island, Alta.
“I read your stuff all the time,” he said with a smile, which made me smile as well, still wondering if I belong in the highly specialized field of agriculture.
I’ve been covering for months the grazing lease controversy in the Municipal District of Taber, and a resident thanked me for that coverage. He was happy to see the region making its mark in the pages of The Western Producer once again in the crucial agriculture corridor.
It has been a cumulative effect these past few months, where I finally feel I have my feet under me in a very understanding industry as I continue to build my repertoire with my list of contacts.
Previous community journalism experience, where you are covering all beats, scratched just the surface of the deep waters that nourish the knowledge of agriculture right down the supply chain.
The learning curve has been steep, but southern Alberta producers and organizations have been too numerous for me to thank in easing me in, helping me with sources for story generation and just giving that warm welcome rural communities I’ve covered in the past always do.
There has been a common trend I have noticed while travelling the southern Alberta landscape to attend conferences, interview producers and cover breaking stories.
I have attempted to tell the industry’s story from the farmer to the value-added processing chain, keeping in mind both the politicians and suburbanites who thinks food comes from their grocery store as well as rural audiences.
I will continue to endeavour to the best of my ability to tell the science, economy and life stories of agriculture that I hope appeals to rural and urban readers alike, showcasing its immense impact in our own backyard and the world.
