(Twitter/@cgmonch)

By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Literacy

Farmers tell their stories in classrooms as part of literacy month

Mar 15, 2019 | 4:56 PM

March is Agriculture Literacy Month in classrooms across the country.

The initiative has farmers and industry representatives visit classrooms to help students learn about, connect to and understand agriculture.

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFC SK) Executive Director Clinton Monchuk said it’s a great opportunity for students to meet the people who grow the food they are eating.

He said at the core of understanding is engagement.

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“When you can actually go into a classroom and talk about what you are doing on your own farm and have that level of engagement back and forth with questions, you allow these young minds to learn more about what you’re doing and it really is an excellent experience and one that hopefully a lot of farmers and can actually do,” he said.

In addition to his position with FFC SK, Monchuk has a grain farm in the Lanigan area and a poultry layer operation. He visited two elementary classes and a high school in Saskatoon. He said the students’ knowledge of agriculture is wide ranging and sometimes surprising.

Monchuk specifically mentioned a comment from a Grade 4 student.

“I asked why farmers would direct seed and she very clearly stated ‘We don’t want a reoccurrence of the dirty 30s,'” Monchuk said. “We have a lot of individuals that know so much about agriculture.”

Monchuk said farmers have tiptoed around the tough questions and they need to be honest and transparent about what they do.

“I talk about the use of pesticides. The fact that we spray herbicides to control weeds and if there are insects in our field that are going to eat away our crop we want to control that,” Monchuk said. “Or genetically modified crops, the reason why we actually have them and the benefits to farmers as well as the wider benefit to consumers.”

Monchuk said without farmers actually talking about these issues and bringing it to the forefront, someone is going to do a Google search and find information that may or may not be correct.

“If you have an opportunity to talk about these issues, take it. When you personalize it as to why you use that pesticide or that GMO product or if you are using antibiotics with your cattle for sick animals, explain why you do it,” he said. “It provides more understanding when you use your own personal story.”

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF