The Citizen, 2015-11-05, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015.
When Andrew Campbell started
the #farm365 hashtag on Twitter to
post a farming picture every day for
one year, he never expected the
response – both negative and
positive – he would receive from his
simple goal of educating the public
about everyday life on the farm.
His story was picked up by CTV
and CBC television and after posting
his first picture of a new-born calf on
New Year’s Day, his Twitter
followers jumped from 6,000 to over
13,000 revealed the Middlesex
County dairy farmer who was the
guest speaker at the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture’s annual
meeting in Holmesville on Oct. 29.
“Then animal rights groups
decided there was too much positive
media so they decided to hijack the
campaign,” he said.
What began as an advocacy
movement which other farmers from
across the country were joining in
with their own on-farm posts
became threatening as animal rights
groups used the #farm365 hashtag to
pose disturbing pictures. They also
found out where Campbell and his
family lived and made frightening
threats.
“I really believe in advocacy but I
had to wonder what I should do,”
remembers Campbell. He sought
advice on what to do if he needed to
take action, but fortunately, says
Campbell, the activists targetting his
home and family were big on talk
and slow to take action.
The furor has since died down but
Campbell and several other farmers
continue to post daily pictures of life
on the farm and his message is that
all farmers should find a way to
educate, promote and share what it’s
like to be a farmer using social
media or straight-forward
relationship building.
“A lot of this is about building
trust with the consumer,” said
Campbell. “Information is great but
the relationship we make with
consumers is the real benefit.”
For instance, when a negative
news story comes out about how
animals are raised, the consumer can
read it and potentially believe it. But
if that consumer has a relationship
with a farmer, he could ask that
farmer if it’s true and get the other
side to the story.
Also, many consumers feel guilty
for eating meat because they are so
misinformed about farming because
of the media campaigns fronted by
animals rights activists. If farmers
can show the positive side of
farming, it can release consumers
from this unfounded guilt, he said.
Moreover, it can just crack open
bizarre misconceptions. One of them
came from a couple at a farm show
who said they never ate beef
anymore because farmers feed
battery acid to their calves. Asking
the couple why they believe this, the
couple answered they had heard
farmers feed calves electrolytes.
“They heard about electrolytes and
translated that into battery acid
rather than Gatorade,” said
Campbell. “Once I explained that
electrolytes were like an energy
drink, the couple was so relieved that
they could eat beef again.”
Another curious question arose
after Campbell posted a close-up of
fertilizer to be spread on the fields.
He was questioned why farmers
spread fertilizer.
“I had to laugh because do they
know the price of fertilizer? We
certainly can’t afford to spread it
simply because we feel like it,”
recalls Campbell, adding that it’s
just part of the lack of knowledge
consumers have about farming.
So he explained to the viewer that
crops are like people – they need to
be fed in order to grow and thrive.
Fertilizer is their food. This simple
explanation made sense to the
viewer and made him adjust his
thinking of farmers as being
wasteful and anti-environment
because they use fertilizer.
Consumers want to know, and they
need to get their answers from the
farmers actually growing the crops,
milking the cows, raising the pigs
and picking eggs, said Campbell.
“The standard is going to be that
we have to vouch for our practices or
seriously question the practices we
implement if we can’t vouch for
them,” said Campbell.
Also speaking at the federation’s
annual meeting was Huron-Bruce
MPP Lisa Thompson, who said it
had been a while since she’d been to
a farm meeting and extra tables had
to be set out to fit everyone.
She praised the federation for its
dedicated work for farmers in the
county and highlighted the passing
of her private member bill to have
agri-food literacy embedded in
Ontario’s Grade 9 and 10
curriculums.
“These students will get taught
about future job opportunities in
agriculture,” said Thompson.
The evening also included
presentations to Earl Wagner, CEO
of the Hensall District Co-op and
Don Lobb, a soil conservation
pioneer with a long history in Huron
County, who were inducted into the
Huron County Agricultural Hall of
Fame after their summer induction
into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of
Fame.
Elections were also held. Joan
Vincent was acclaimed as president
of the federation while Erica Murray
was acclaimed as first vice-president
and Ethan Wallace acclaimed as
second vice-president.
Galawe’en raises $11,000 for Festival
The Blyth Festival Galawe’en
event was the perfect way to end the
2015 season and start to the 2016
season according to General
Manager Deb Sholdice as the event
raised more than $11,000 for the
theatre.
“Everyone had a good time I think
and it was a good success,” Sholdice
said.
Artistic Director Gil Garratt
agreed, saying that the event went
“really well.”
“The evening was exciting and
filled with conviviality,” he said.
“Everyone told me they found it to
be a fun and exciting event.”
Garratt said what he was most
impressed with was how everyone
really got into the spirit of the
event.
“Everyone wore costumes,” he
said. “On everything we had it said
that costumes were optional.”
Garratt said that, in a situation like
that, he expected people to not want
to dress up.
“Some were really good and
funny, some were really scary,” he
said. “It was great.”
Sholdice said that there were close
to 100 people there and, with the
catering provided by Part II Bistro,
the Festival volunteers and Festival
staff, as well as members of the
Young Company troupe helping to
serve food and running the ‘selfie’
booth, everyone had a good time.
She also said that Madame Rosita,
the fortune teller, entertained many
clients.
“Everyone had fun and our donors
were incredibly generous,” she said.
“It was good night all around.”
Honoured
At last week’s annual meeting, the Huron County Federation of Agriculture chose to
posthumously honour Grant Jones with this year’s Agricultural Recognition Award. The Jones
family accepted on his behalf. From left: Marinus Bakker, Huron County Federation of
Agriculture President Joan Vincent, Mike Jones, Brenda Jones, Shannon Wilds, Patti Jones
and Chrystal Jones. (Lisa B. Pot photo)
Campbell discusses backlash at HCFA annual
Enshrined
Soil conservationist Don Lobb, left, and Earl Wagner of the Hensall District Co-op, were
recognized for their induction into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame with plaques also
inducting them into the Huron County Agricultural Hall of Fame. Their images will now hang in
the halls of the Huron County Museum. (Lisa B. Pot photo)
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the Independent
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Elm Tree Valley
IN THE ROAD
By Keith Roulston
Enjoy a comic look at the
rural/urban divide
in the novel
When a forgotten village finds itself in
the path of a new super-highway it tries
to attract attention to its plight by
declaring itself an independent country.
But things get out of hand when the
town drunk organizes an army and
those who have most to gain by the
highway’s completion fight back.
Enjoy In the Road
FREE
in 15 installments on our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
REPRINTS
OF PHOTOS
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By Lisa B. Pot
Special to The Citizen
Stick With the Classifieds.
If you’re shopping for something special, keep looking
in the Classifieds. Every week, you’ll find a great selection of
listings for everything from apartments for rent to
things to buy and see.
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