7 Common Themes from the Launch of Country Guide’s New Podcast
Last month, I had the chance to get back to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, my first time back at the show since 2019. I was there as part of a project with Glacier Farm Media, recording podcast episodes for the relaunch of their magazine, Country Guide.
Referred too often as the “Maclean’s magazine of agriculture and food,” many don’t know this, but Country Guide is Canada’s oldest farming publication, dating back to 1886. The October 2023 print issue, marks the inaugural issue of the ‘new’ County Guide that centers around the new motto, “Your Farm. Your Conversation.”
As part of the relaunch of Country Guide this fall, one of the ways they’re bringing more conversations to our Canadian farmers, is through the creation of the Country Guide podcast, which I was honoured to host for them.
I had the best time sitting down for conversations with farmers for the podcast. So many great stories, sage advice and lessons they shared for others to learn from.
The people I was able to sit down with, and the conversations we were able to have, centered around honest dialogue about their farms - where they’ve been, where they’re heading, whether the future they have in mind looks bright, and the advice they’d give and lessons they’ve learned along the way.
The conversations were honest, raw, insightful and just darn enjoyable. It was like sitting down for a cup of coffee with a friend, catching up on life and wondering where the time flew. And this with complete strangers who I sat down with - some generational farmers, first-time farmers, young women, and retirement aged farmers, all who had different paths that led them to where they are, as farmers in Canadian and agriculture.
What surprised me most about our conversations, even though the paths to farming were very different for each person we interviewed, were the common themes that came about in the 10+ conversations I had. Here were the 7 themes I documented and took note of as we recorded the podcast episodes:
They’re not farming for profit. These farmers are farming for the lifestyle and way of life that they genuinely love. The profit is only the ‘cherry on top’ for them if you will. They were quick to share that you don’t get into farming if all you care about is profit.
They spoke so highly of the benefits of farm life - the freedom, the lifestyle, the friendships, spending time outdoors, the roots they’ve established within their communities, giving back - there really was a sense of pride for each of them, in being a farmer.
They were optimistic about the future of Canadian agriculture. Even though they all have experienced challenges on the farm, they appeared to be excited about the future of farming and held a positive view about where the sector is heading long-term. All of it came back to the foundational message that people will always need to eat and they took great interest in sharing how proud they are to grow food for Canadians.
They were accepting of failure. A word that would usually scare most others, is a word you can tell these individuals embraced. Failure on the farm was something that not only they were accepting of, but welcomed, and you can tell they’ve been able to move quickly on from the failures they’ve faced and get up, and try again. It’s why they’ve been able to see the success they have - because failure is not something that held them back on the farm. And if anything, they leaned in favourably to the word scary word, failure.
They are innovative, problem solvers. Even despite something like a global pandemic such as COVID-19, it didn’t stop them from thinking differently. Pivoting, trying new things, growing new crops, thinking differently, and not being afraid to embrace new ways of farming and doing business, is what keeps these farmers on top of their businesses. Pivoting to get their products in the direct hands of consumers throughout the pandemic, as an example, was one of the many examples of the ways these farmers solved problems, which led to success for them that they would have never got to experience had they not thought and done differently. Having their teams of experts behind them to lean on and support them, was a big key to all of this.
They embrace change. While many people would think farmers are some of the most traditional people, one thing was clear in all of my conversations - these individuals are accepting of change and change is something they have all embraced. They were fully aware that the way they farm now is going to be very different 50 years from now.
They’re farming for legacy - to pass on the lifestyle, the passion they too have for the sector - to the next generation who is interested. Their genuine love for what they do, and how connected it is to family, is at the core of why they farm. It is so evident in these conversations.
The first County Guide podcast episode went live this week. My first conversation was with Mark Lumley of Fairwind Farms, a Sarnia, Ontario based cash cropper, whose storied career path started on the family farm, led him to becoming a musician, a teacher, having the chance to meet legendary musician Alice Cooper, and ultimately led him back to the farm where he is now with his daughter and son-in-law farming 4,000+ acres.
Take a listen and let us know what you think!
