Summer is fast approaching, and as the seasons have changed, so too has my perspective on the ever-evolving agriculture industry.
I’m mere months into a new job as a reporter with Glacier FarmMedia, and insights into the way of life have become much more insightful after decades in community journalism.
My reporting career has mainly seen me be a jack of all trades but king of none, even though I live in a huge ag corridor. It was just another beat, along with sports, municipal and provincial governments, arts and culture, crime and punishment, education and features.
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Scratching just the surface, I always wrote about the end product of an industry that contributes more than $23 billion annually in revenue to Alberta’s economy, making it the highest in Canada on a per province basis.
Sitting down for my three meals a day, it was just “there” at the grocery store.
As I gain more knowledge, it was obvious that I was just taking food for granted.
However, the industry is about much more than that. There are the crop varieties, the battling of disease, water rationing, trade wars, invasive species and animal behaviour — the list goes on. The sub-topics with overarching themes are nearly endless — and that’s just a few months of being in the agriculture media game.
It makes for a deeper understanding.
For example, I assumed all grasshoppers were bad for crops, pigs were not your smartest of animals and variables always remained the same in certain food production systems.
These are just a few of the misconceptions I, as part of the general public who grew up only an hour away from a crucial agriculture corridor, can form when we don’t have a front-row seat to the process.
That front row seat has helped me truly appreciate how crucial the industry is to our very existence, with just a little bit of geography off the beaten path.
The knowledge will get even more ingrained as summer makes its way. The Ag in Motion farm show is scheduled for July in Saskatchewan, and field days will be held across southern Alberta.
It has very much taken me out of my comfort zone and I have thoroughly enjoyed knowing that you are never too old to learn new things.
Whether you’re just starting out in elementary school or in your golden retirement years, one’s perspective should continuously grow.
Just like the crops that nourish our bodies, information can nourish our minds.
