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NEWS BITES THAT MATTER
Faces of Farming calendar contest
Farm & Food Care Ontario is holding its annual Faces of Farming calendar contest. The calendar features the stories of farmers and farm families from all sectors of agriculture.
Each year, Farm & Food Care opens the contest to those who want to tell their own story, and see their faces in homes and workplaces across the province. One winner in total will be chosen from among the applicants. Applications will be accepted until March 16.
The winning family, pairing, or individual will participate in either a spring or summer photo shoot, and will receive complimentary copies of the calendar plus two tickets and accommodation for the 2015 Ontario Harvest Gala and calendar launch this fall.
Last year’s winning entry came from the Howe family of Aylmer who grow strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelons, squash, pumpkins, beans, and other vegetables. Their three generation family photo appears in the 2015 edition of the calendar.
Farmers or farm families are encouraged to enter the contest by submitting both an informal family photo and short essay (400 words or less) describing their family. Candidates must make their primary income from agriculture. Their essays must include the following to be considered:
• Names and ages of all family members;
• Address including county or region of residency;
• A description of the farming operation including types of crops grown and/or livestock raised;
• History of the farm — number of generations farming, etc.;
• Any other details that make their story unique including community involvement, environmental initiatives, unusual hobbies, etc.;
• Why they’d like to appear in the Faces of Farming calendar.
Entries can be emailed to contests@farmfoodcare.org or mailed to 100 Stone Road West, Suite 106, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 5L3. •
Research survey needs corn producers
Sarah Rotz is a PhD student at the University of Guelph researching on-farm resilience to climate change, with a focus on resilience in grain corn farming in southern Ontario. Rotz is seeking southern Ontario grain farmers with corn in their rotation to participate in a survey investigating the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on their production, and their methods of adapting to such changes. Grain corn farmers are asked to participate in a survey investigating the role of agricultural environments, farm socio-economics, and institutional relationships in shaping resilience to weather and climate variations on the farm.
Participants will receive a $20 gift card as a thank-you for their time and contribution, and the survey will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. This research is being supervised by Dr. Evan Fraser, Dr. Ralph Martin, and Dr. John Smithers at the University of Guelph, and the project has been sponsored by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. The results will contribute to the completion of the researcher’s PhD thesis.
If you are interested in participating in the survey, please email srotz@uoguelph.ca.
The researchers sincerely thank participants for taking the time to contribute to this research. Every effort will be made to ensure that research findings will be made accessible to the farm community, and will aid them in adapting to the growing impacts of climate change. •
