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Why We Made These Picks

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Published: February 1, 2011

We brought in lots of help from across the country to help us pick our list of Canada’s 12 most influential farmers, and while we never did make an official count, it’s safe say there were well over 100 names that came up in the discussions.

Then, every time we tried to narrow the selection down, there always seemed to be at least 30 names left.

Any of the 100-plus, and certainly any of the various 30s are deserving of any accolades we could send their way. So are others. Every reader who checks out this special issue of Country Guide will stop at least twice and say, “Heck, why aren’t ______ _____ and ______ ______ on this list? How could they ever left them off?”

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Here are three reasons why we plunged ahead, knowing we could ever produce a list that everyone would agree to.

The first is because farming is a full-effort job. Most farmers know lots of names in their commodities and in their provinces, but it’s tough to follow what’s going on in other sectors and other regions too. Yet it has never been more critical to our readers to get the best ideas from other farmers and adapt them to their own challenges.

We didn’t set up quotas to ensure our list had this many canola growers, for instance, or that many farmers from Manitoba. We just asked, “Who are the farmers who are breaking barriers, creating examples that other farmers are picking up on?”

That way, we figured we would produce a list with names of farmers that you’ll want to know about as you think about your own future. And that’s exactly how we think it turned out.

Second, we wanted to put together profiles of influential farmers from across the country so you can see, not how they are different, but how are they the same. It’s why we didn’t just print a picture and name for each, but opted instead to give you more perspective on their achievements. The details are different in every case, but also in every case, these are farmers who never worried about definitions. Whether it’s Jaques Laforge in the East with his focus on self-sufficiency, or Flo Price’s retail breakthroughs in the West, there isn’t one of these farmers who hasn’t broken the mold.

Third, we think agriculture should celebrate its greatness. As we said above, the challenge wasn’t to find 12 farmers who deserve to be on this list, it was to get the list down to a number we could manage. These are exceptional individuals, but they are farming in an exceptional industry where extraordinary productivity and extraordinary commitment are the stuff of every day.

Can you imagine the impact if every Canadian consumer knew that this is the quality of people who are growing their food? Heck, some days I’d be satisfied just to have every politican know.

Let us know what you think. Drop me a line at [email protected], or call me at 519-674-1449. Did we get it right?

About The Author

Tom Button

Tom Button

Editor

Tom Button is editor of Country Guide magazine.

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