Reading Time: 3 minutes In the age of social media, consumers are feeling empowered to ask more and more questions, which means that answering questions about farm practices has become another “to-do” on your already supercharged list. Farmers not only play an important role in the food conversation, they can be said to have a duty to participate in […] Read more
Tough talk
How to respond to questions you don’t want to answer
Why you should be on social media
... it isn’t the reason you think
Reading Time: 4 minutes Technology is ubiquitous on today’s farms, and your social life is no exception. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow farmers to share their stories, engage and educate consumers, and connect with and learn from others in their industry around the world. While some current research does point to the pitfalls of social […] Read more
Step three to value adding: Social media
Social media is a powerful tool to attract customers, but mastering it isn’t as easy as it looks
Reading Time: 5 minutes There’s no doubt that social media platforms are making it easier than ever to stay in touch with existing customers and to expand your market beyond your current reach. But social media is always evolving, and businesses need to be nimble to use these new tools successfully. The electronic landscape is shifting so fast that […] Read more
Farmer Tim’s social media tips
Pointers from Tim May on how to use social media to set the record straight on farms and farming
Reading Time: 4 minutes Tim May is a fourth-generation dairy farmer near Guelph, Ont., with 27,000 followers on Facebook. That’s right — 27,000. May started his Farmer Tim Facebook page a little over three years ago when he decided it was time for average farmers to battle the misinformation about dairy farming and agriculture that he saw being shared […] Read more
‘Fake News’ and the farm
Politicians may have just caught on about ‘fake news,’ but farmers have known for years what it’s like to live in a world where anything can and does get said and believed. Now, there is a way to counter the din of anti-activists, the food conspiracy theorists, and the faddists. And it may just start with you.
Reading Time: 7 minutes Just 18 short months ago, almost no one — not politicians, not reporters, not lay people — used the term ‘fake news.’ Sure, bias and dishonesty have existed in politics, in sales, in industry and in media forever. What’s new since the viral spread of the ‘fake news’ concept, though, is our almost universal belief […] Read more
Step two
After you survive the startup, it takes a whole different set of skills to keep a value-add business growing
Reading Time: 8 minutes When Country Guide first spoke to sisters Natasha and Elysia Vandenhurk six years ago, their lives were hectic. But in that way, it was a story familiar to anyone running a startup. The Vandenhurk sisters were in the midst of creating a direction for Three Farmers, a food company producing camelina oil products from crops […] Read more
Farmers encouraged to make Agriculture Day meme-able
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s farmers are being urged to make closer connections with the country’s non-farming consumers, in both the real world and cyberspace, as Canada’s Agriculture Day nears. Spearheaded by the year-round industry-backed initiative Agriculture More Than Ever, Canada’s Agriculture Day is set this year for Tuesday (Feb. 13). “It’s a time to showcase all of the […] Read more
The millennial question
Do millennials have the discipline it takes to deliver on their promise?
Reading Time: 6 minutes As chair of the Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum (CYFF), and as a millennial herself, Danielle Lee has heard all the stereotypes about millennial farmers, and she knows the challenges millennials face. Lee’s job is to speak out on behalf of young farmers, and to ensure they grow into a positive force in these trying times […] Read more
Smart stuff
Do parents really recognize the skills their children are bringing back from college and university, and how those skills can make the farm stronger?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Skip the smiley faces and the acronyms. In the new age of digital soft skills, agricultural schools are embracing the same modes of electronic communication as their students, albeit with a dose of finesse, professionalism and, at times, trepidation. “Don’t use emojis, they’re cute, but they’re not professional,” Mark Fournier of Alberta’s Olds College tells […] Read more
A FLARE for agriculture
For FLARE magazine, it was an idea to attract readers. For Amanda Brodhagen, it was a chance to shatter so many farm stereotypes
Reading Time: 8 minutes Advocacy to Amanda Brodhagen means taking action. It’s not just about sharing her farm experiences on social media — although she does plenty of that — it’s about taking time to volunteer at the Beef Farmers of Ontario booth at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair each year as well as serving on the executive of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
