For a girl who was born and raised in Saskatchewan, I know little about agriculture despite being surrounded by it my entire life.
My grandfather owned a farm near Quill Lake, Sask., when I was younger, and I remember running down the steps of the front porch to feed the pigs and sitting in the combine with him.
I’ve had friends who grew up on farms and teachers who help their spouses with harvest. Even my ancestors came to Saskatchewan to farm.
I want to know more about this industry that is so important to the province — and my heritage — and I can’t gain that knowledge through osmosis.
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Currently, I am enrolled at the School of Journalism at the University of Regina. Journalism students are required to participate in at least one internship for the program. When I spotted the internship for The Western Producer, I thought that the best way to learn about agriculture was to be completely immersed in it.
The great thing about the Producer is the fact that it explores all aspects of agriculture all over the world. It not only focuses on products and markets but also captures the livelihood of producers everywhere.
Considering the Producer strives “to be the best source of agricultural news and information,” I figured it would be the best place to start.
Daily journalism requires reporters to cover a wide range of topics — from city hall to business to court. Becoming knowledgeable in agriculture just isn’t possible in a day.
I’m learning that agricultural stories don’t necessarily mean that they stem directly from stories that contain the words “crops” or “livestock.”
For example, my story this week at the Producer was about an endangered sage grouse species.
At first, I had no idea how an endangered bird would relate to agriculture. As it turned out, the protection order the federal government is announcing would pose restrictions on land.
This will not be the case for private and crown grazing land. Until I read that the order would not affect those lands, it hadn’t occurred to me that an order like that would have been a problem for producers.
It was an eye opener, one of many that I look forward to during my time here over the next three months.
