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.

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.

My mother always feels like she needs to apologize that I have to use holidays to come back home to visit family instead of exploring the exciting world that is out there.

In my lifetime, I’ve traveled across Canada from the furthest points west and east. It’s been the same with the United States, and my travels have taken me to both coasts and points in between. As well, I’ve visited numerous countries in Europe along with making my way to Mexico.

However, for all my travels, I will always find my way home.

My childhood was not Norman Rockwell-esque, but whose was?

However, the foundations were built on love, trust and empathy with my strengths and my flaws.

My parents will be entering their 80th year of life in 2026. With each passing year, I see them slow down a little more. Naps are a little longer, aches and pains a little more pronounced. However, the love is still as strong and vibrant as it was when I first reached for my parents’ hands as an infant.

Now, my parents reach for our hands for some extra care and help. Not knowing how many more Christmases I have left with them, it has made me more appreciative of every visit, whether it be the weekly FaceTime calls, the family text chats on Messenger or the milestones shared in our personal lives.

Like a farmer tending to their fields, the seeds of family have sprouted a bountiful crop for me that has nourished the soul with love and appreciation of things both big and small.

This is true in both my personal and professional lives with family, friends and acquaintances as I build new connections in my relatively new tenure with Glacier Farm Media.

Going from the broad strokes of community journalism in agriculture to a sharper focus on singular issues has made me appreciate even more the impact producers have in our everyday life.

From my family to yours, all the best and much love for a prosperous and meaningful 2026 for those you hold dear.

Southern Alberta farmers meet at The Pin with a cornucopia of wings, french fries, pizza, onion rings and dipping bread to go along with a few libations and topics of the day affecting their field.

From current international trade issues to optimum yields for a variety of crops and from regenerative agriculture to land prices and taxation, the topics were as vast as the laughter shared in side jokes and the afterglow of a successful harvest.

There are certain professions that people say you should remain arms length from, such as law enforcement officers and journalists, but I’ve never truly understood the concept, especially in community journalism or coverage of rural areas.

You are going to have a very lonely life if you do so, given how often you cross paths with your sources on a day-to-day basis in close proximity.

As long as you are buying the next round at times or buying the pizza at the next sports game, I think a few onion rings are not going to sway coverage on anything.

These are not private jets, multimillion-dollar campaign contributions or $50,000 swag bags. It’s small-town rural living at its best, where producers gather to exchange laughs and opinions that may always not align but can be expressed in a welcoming environment.

I have generated more story ideas from a pint at the watering hole, good food at a restaurant or bumping into someone at the local hockey game than I have through press releases.

There was s stark contrast at the table — one farmer had received an international award while another farming family had faced controversy in recent months from a debate over land stewardship versus high-value crop production/revenue for taxpayers.

It showcasedthe fact that while traveling in similar circles can generate story ideas, there is that comfort and respect to talk about issues even when it is not all rays of sunshine. Trust can be built while eating snacks and watching playoff baseball together.

It helps build sources of information (and friendships) from the bottom up instead of top down in the world of agriculture.

That feeling was once again emphasized when I attended a municipal candidates forum in Alberta for both the Town of Taber and the Municipal District of Taber.

Often, many candidates in rural jurisdictions are acclaimed, with no one running against them, but not this time. There were two candidates for mayor and 11 running for six seats on Taber council. The MD had multiple seats contested as well. It shows a keen interest in democracy, but also a sign of discontent.

Municipal councils have come under fire for a variety of reasons: land sales, conservation, green spaces, ranchers versus irrigators, affordable housing and government spending. I have been covering some of it from an agriculture angle — native grasslands being converted into irrigated land as grazing leases expire and aren’t renewed.

You are not going to please everyone in the world of politics — it’s the nature of the beast. What politicians give to one part of the electorate is not being given to another set of voters.

Journalists report on these conflicting interests in hopes of offering a voice to both sides. Regardless, many consider a story to be slanted if it does not align with their own beliefs.

Large urban areas provide a degree of insulation from this, but in rural areas, the people affected by the controversial decision you made or the story you wrote are often lining up behind you at the grocery store.

You may have kids together in 4H, coaching them in sports or attend the same church. You travel in common friend circles or volunteer together for the betterment of your community.

You see first-hand the impact your profession or civic duty has on people, for better or for worse.

It’s a rawness that is both a blessing and a curse. The grass-roots impact you are able to make at a rural level, which the odd time may even have provincial, national or even international implications, are very visible.

As I continue to make the transition from community journalism to more specialized writing, I have noticed the sense of community on multiple levels. It’s not just crops that are being grown but also relationships.

Follow all our Ag in Motion coverage here

I work remotely and see my Glacier FarmMedia colleagues only online, so it was nice to experience the sense of family as we descended on the show grounds near Langham, Sask.

We set up camp in the company tent and worked through the news flow and any curveball that may have arisen. Regardless of how well some people in the room knew each other, everyone was encouraged and genuine introductions were made, both on the job or in the hotel lobby and social activities.

You realize that while the agricultural world is large, it can be six degrees of separation with the people who help service it.

For example, while driving a golf cart through the site, I gave a ride to Vern Anderson of FJ Dynamics, and learned that despite all his worldly travels, he lived in Taber, Alta., when I worked for the community newspaper there. What was supposed to be a two-minute drive turned into a half-hour conversation.

The flight home from Saskatoon to Calgary found me sitting beside Micah Cockrill from Delta Water Products and Mike Roberts of Rivulis.

The time flew by as we talked about agriculture and our respective jobs.

Conversations that could have been awkward instead happened with ease. I’m not the most Chatty Kathy with the people beside me on flights, but I don’t think there was one stretch of awkward silence the entire time we were in the air.

It served as the exclamation point of the whole trip.

You often hear that the world of agriculture is misunderstood by the general populous, and perhaps if the layperson experienced what I just did, with writers, producers and salespeople in the business, their viewpoint might change.

Simply grab a chair and take a listen. You’ll see and feel a sense of ease and community from people with decades of experience.

It’s worth the time.

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.

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.

Dipping into producer meetings, annual general meetings and agriculture conferences, I have noticed a common trend emerge. There has been an underlying feeling that those outside of agriculture see farmers as destroyers of the environment and the land.

Data presented at conferences show greater yields with lower inputs — in other words, doing more with less land, using less energy consumption with greater results. By every metric as the decades have progressed, agriculture has shown progress in the green” movement.

And yet, these presenters have a sort of asterisk beside their names, put there by those who think our sustenance comes from the grocery store and have little knowledge about how much agricultural producers love the land.

It is in a farmer’s own self-interest for conservation and land management to make a living off the land and pass it onto their children — and yet, this disconnect persists among the less-versed public.

Then it hit me — while these presentations are providing so much great new information in the ever evolving field of agriculture, it is being said to the converted.

It’s important for industry-specific publications such as the Western Producer to spread this type of information to producers, but the broad strokes found in community journalism also have a role to play.

Even having the most basic of understanding is better than the dangerous misperceptions that can be found in urban centres, particularly when urban residents often legislatively determine how farmers are doing their job.

Being a former editor of a small generalist paper with oil and agriculture as king, I myself have learned so much in such a short amount of time as my appreciation has grown 10-fold about what it takes to produce food.

Imagine how important it is for the people who are complete blank slates to learn tidbits about the meat and crops they enjoy.

Agriculture is the foundation of nourishment that sustains life. Its importance needs to emerge from the shadows of rural living.

Information is power, and it needs to reach as many people as possible — not just the commodities that drive the economy, but the people who produce them, the families they raise and the communities they care for.

Urban centres need to truly appreciate the lifestyle that is afforded to them because of the rural people toiling in the fields.

Greg Price is a reporter with Glacier FarmMedia.