Chatham-Kent Farmers Launch Education Program to Raise Awareness
The Kent Federation of Agriculture (KFA) has launched an education program to inform the community about agriculture in Chatham-Kent. The initiative is led by KFA president Jim Brackett, who believes that educating the public about farming is more important than ever.
About 50 years ago, most Canadians were one or two generations removed from farming communities. However, now it's three to five generations removed, according to Brackett. To bridge this gap, the KFA has installed 12 signs throughout Chatham-Kent, highlighting local crops and their uses.
The signs have been placed at intersections with higher traffic levels for greater visibility. They feature information about soft red winter wheat, field corn, soybeans, and machine-harvested field tomatoes. For example, the field corn sign notes that it's used for animal feed, ethanol fuel, food ingredients, corn oil, starch, sweeteners, bioplastics, and other products.
The project was funded by the KFA and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Revive Fund program with a total cost of approximately $7,000-8,000. The signs will help raise awareness about agriculture in Chatham-Kent and its importance to the community. Brackett emphasizes that 'we (farmers) are now only about two per cent of the population yet 100 per cent of the population relies on what we do.'