Farmers Day (Belated) – June 10

I know, I know, I missed it. But since I think it’s such an important day, I wanted to post something to celebrate, even if it is late. But maybe posting this during harvest makes up for it. At least a little bit.

The above picture was taken by yours truly, yes me, during a genuine Saskatchewan harvest not too long ago. My family are in the picture in the combine and grain trucks even if you can’t see them, I promise.

Recently there has been an increase of attention on farming and farmers lately with different things happening in the world, and the increased pressure and scrutiny of farming and farm practices. Plus, because it is harvest time for so many farms around the world, so for many reasons this is good timing. Or at least I’m trying to convince you of that.

I am just going to answer a few basic questions briefly hoping you learn something, are reminded of something, or just understand just how critical farmers are, and to maybe learn something more.

What is a farmer?

Well it would vary in different areas of the world to some degree, but basically a farmer would be someone who produces something. Sows seed and then harvests the crop. Breeds and/or feeds livestock. We classify farmers as those who produce larger quantities of produce for people to eat.

This is the definition from Britannica Kids which works pretty well. “A farmer is someone who grows plants and raises animals for human use. Farmers have to work very hard and long hours in order to be successful. The work of farmers is necessary for human survival. Farming, or agriculture, has been around for about 10,000 years.”

What do farmers do?

This one is easy, farmers produce food. I know, I know, it’s much more than that, especially lots of hard work. But when you get right down to it, that is the goal and the outcome.

How they produce the food can vary so much. Especially since some comes from a tiny seed and some comes from a tiny little animal. And within each of those comes so many varieties and species.

Why do we need farmers?

Well I know I like to eat. What about you? Do you like to eat? Once again, it’s so much more than that, but when it comes right down to it, we all need to eat and farmers produce the food we eat.

We could make it more complicated than that, but why would we? Farmers put in endless hours of hard work, year after year to produce good food for people around the world.

What do farmers look like?

Farmers can look like anyone. Even though there is a stereotype we all might picture, like someone with a farmer cap perched at an angle high atop their head, dirty jeans, boots that are falling apart and a worn out plaid shirt, farmers can look like anyone. They can be short, tall, have a moustache, grey hair, no hair and everything in between. Male OR female. Farmers can be 18 years old or 100 years old, and any age in between.

How many farms exist in the world? (Here are a few stats for you)

The latest estimates find that there are at least 570 million farms worldwide, of which more than 500 million can be considered family farms.

Family farms produce roughly 80% of the world’s food in value terms. Farms smaller than 2 hectares produce roughly 35% of the world’s food. The largest one percent of farms operating 70 percent of the farmland.

45% of the world population relies on agriculture for its livelihood.

(Statistics Canada shares the following info).

Manitoba has the highest proportion of young farm operators.

In 2021, farms in Saskatchewan accounted for 43.1% of Canada’s cropland. Farms in the province reported 40.3 million acres of cropland, down 0.4% from 2016.

The vast majority of Saskatchewan’s total farm area was made up of cropland (66.9%).

Farms classified as oilseed and grain, accounted for 90.2% of the province’s total cropland. Canola was the Saskatchewan’s largest crop, which accounted for 29.7% of the province’s total cropland. This was followed by spring wheat (17.6%), durum wheat (11.6%), lentils (9.3%) and barley (9.0%).

In 2021, the total number of farms reported in Saskatchewan decreased by 1.1% from 2016. By comparison, the number of farms reported across Canada decreased by 1.9% over the same period. There were 34,128 farms reported in Saskatchewan in 2021, accounting for 18.0% of Canada’s total.

Have you met a farmer?

It depends on where you live as to how much access you might have to meet a farmer. If you haven’t spoken to a farmer in your life I really encourage you to. Ask them questions, lots of questions about what they do and why they do it. Find out all you can.

There are also many social media accounts where you can learn more about farmers and farming. That is the easiest way.

Here are a few accounts I check out regularly on Instagram.

A couple local Saskatchewan women.

https://instagram.com/highheelsandcanolafields?igshid=Y2ZmNzg0YzQ=

https://instagram.com/viewfromtheranchporch?igshid=Y2ZmNzg0YzQ=

And for my American readers.

https://instagram.com/everydayillinoisfarmfamily?igshid=Y2ZmNzg0YzQ=

As an added bonus here is a great podcast giving basic info about farming and how the current government pressure affects farms. https://www.thecanadianstory.com/podcast/episode/27c6f535/135-tanya-clemens-ask-a-farmer-about-fertilizer.

Farmers rate their happiness above average. One polling company found these results. Farmers rate their career happiness 3.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 28% of careers.

So friend, I hope you have learned one or two new things about farmers and farming. Since I have a farm background and live in the breadbasket of Canada here in Saskatchewan, I think about farming a lot. I hope you will too.

If you ate today, thank a farmer! If you see a farmer today, why don’t you go thank them in person. I am sure they would appreciate that.

Please share this post with one or two of your friends. Comment below with your thoughts on farms, farming or whatever else you like. I would really like to hear your story. Shoot me a personal message through the contact form on the site. I would love it if you like this enough to share it with others. Please SUBSCRIBE in the box above, it helps you know more of what’s going on.