Farmscape for September 15, 2016

The CEO of Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan says it's important to recognize the efforts of those in the agriculture sector who have taken the initiative to help tell the story of the farmers who grow the food that ends up on the plates of consumers around the world.
Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan is accepting nominations until September 30 for the first "Food & Farming Champion" Award.
The new award will be presented December 15 at the Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan annual meeting in Saskatoon to an individual, organization or business who has taken the initiative to engage consumers about agriculture in Saskatchewan.
Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan CEO Adele Buettner says we know the non-farming audience is interested in agriculture and wants to know more about their food and how it's grown.

Clip-Adele Buettner-Adele Buettner:
With only two percent of our population having direct ties to modern agriculture it's important for all of us to reach out to non-farmers and have that conversation.
We're seeing more and more now, consumers want to know more about where and how the food is produced and how it gets on their tables.
We have so many wonderful farmers in our province that produce great food and we want to engage them and others that are involved with the industry in helping us to reach out to non-farmers.
It takes a joint effort to help engage and have that conversation.
We want to take the time to recognize those that have taken that extra step.
We know there's a number of farmers and ranchers and industry people who have done presentations to the non-farming audience, who have engaged them at trade shows, who have written blogs.
It takes time to have that conversation and we want to recognize that effort.

Buettner says consumer trend polls show there's an elevated interest from non-farmers in agriculture and that offers an excellent opportunity for dialogue.
For more information on the Food & Farming Champion Award or to submit a nomination visit farmfoodcaresk.org.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork