Stung by provincial political
restrictions on neonicitinoid seed treatment pesticides, the Grain Farmers of
Ontario organization has launched a public relations campaign to win support
from Ontario's.
Ontario has implemented restrictions on
the continued use of neonicitinoids and the Grain Farmers of Ontario first
reacted with sharp criticisms that the government lacked science-based reasons
for the restrictions, then launched lawsuits which it has lost.
Late last year, the federal government
also announced it will sharply reduce the farm use of neonicitinoid pesticides,
but it cited the results of scientific investigations into side effects, such
as harm to waterline.
The public relations campaign will
feature one farmer per week all 52 weeks of this year, up from three showcased
when the Your Farmers program began last year.
There will be videos and photos from each
farming family’s business and their daily lives throughout the spring, summer,
and fall and personal information ”to help the non-farming public relate
to the farmers,” the organization says.
“By showing the public the faces and
stories of our Ontario grain farmers, we hope to help bridge the gap between
the non-farming public and farming communities,” says Meghan Burke, communications
manager for Grain Farmers of Ontario.
“Much of the urban population has
limited access to farming – we want to give everyone a chance to know farmers
and feel comfortable reaching out to farmers when they have questions about how
grains are grown, harvested, and used.”
Every week in 2017, Good in Every Grain
will share a new farmer profile on the website, Facebook, and Twitter. The
program can be followed on social media by using #YourFarmers. •
The campaign is similar to the
highly-successful program Egg Farmers of Ontario launched in 2010, called Who
Made Your Eggs Today. Sales soared and the egg board felt that it had changed
many minds of urban Ontarions about egg production.
However, the executives of big
companies, such as restaurant chains, were not as impressed and have announced
deadlines beyond which they want only eggs produced by hens that are not housed
in cages.
