Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month

We love connecting people with how their food is raised. We have been posting on social media for several years, to build trust in what we are doing as conventional ranchers, to raise the beef that makes its way to our customers, grocery stores, restaurants and tables around our country and world.

I just wrapped up a couple presentations for Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM). I have been volunteering for several years with Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan, connecting with elementary classes, both urban and rural, to share about agriculture. It is an opportunity for many students to meet a rancher for the first time, or to connect with someone outside of their circle, who is also in agriculture. Students’ eyes light up when they make a connection to how their favourite food is raised or when they get to tell me and their classmates about the livestock they have.

This year the CALM theme was... Connection! High fives! Each presentation is tailored to the Sask Ed curriculum and is age appropriate but I get to add my own info to help create a personal connection with the students about my life on the ranch.

The Gr. ¾ class I visited got to play “Choose your Ag-Venture” game and made decisions for the farmers and different livestock in how they would go about their day and who they would interact with. The Gr. 6 class I met with virtually, learned about the diverse range of careers that are directly and indirectly linked with agriculture and how many similarities there are in those careers.

The students are always so eager to participate and share. I usually try and engage them with visual and sometimes edible aids. I have brought muffins and meatballs for students to eat and this year, it was examples of what our cows eat. Nothing says learning is fun like filling the classroom with the aroma of fermented feed and hay. But I think my favourite part of a classroom presentation is when I open the floor for questions. Inevitably, questions come up about the pictures I showed when telling my own ranching story as an introduction.

Some of the frequently asked questions I have fielded:

• Do you have a favourite cow, and what is its name? (Yes. Bluebell and she’s 7)
• Do you drive a tractor? (Yes. Better than I did last year, but I still have lots to learn)
• Do you like living in the country? (YES! I like the city, but when I moved to the ranch, I loved how close and connected to nature we get to be every day)
• What do cows eat? (I could talk till school was over on what our cows eat, but the short version is grass in the summer and a mix of silage and hay in the winter)
• Do you have any pigs? (No) But don’t you like bacon? (Yes, but we won’t have pigs so we buy our bacon elsewhere)
• How big are your chickens? (Big enough to lay eggs, but aren’t quite big enough for eating)
• Do you have wifi? (Yes! We just upgraded and have super fast internet now)

I highly recommend contacting Agriculture in the Classroom if you are in agriculture and want to share your expertise with kids or are a teacher and want to sign up for one of their many program offerings. The program is available in all parts of Canada.