Real Farmers with Real Heart Radio Campaign Underway

January 16, 2008 - Over the next few months, the Ontario Farm Animal Council’s (OFAC) new radio campaign, entitled “Real Farmers with Real Heart” will air on targeted country music radio stations across Ontario.

 A series of minute-long radio clips introduce listeners to Ontario farmers who tell stories about how they care for their animals, 365 days each year.

 Each clip tells a different story about raising livestock or poultry. Robin Brown, a beef farmer from Victoria County, explains how their cattle always come first – even on Christmas morning when her children must wait to open their presents until the cattle are fed and all of the chores are done. In his clip, David Murray, a Perth County dairy farmer talks about why he chose to buy comfortable rubber mattresses for the cows in his barn to lie down on.  John Maaskant, a chicken farmer from Huron County, describes the extra efforts farmers must go to in extreme weather situations to save their livestock  – citing the time that a snow storm closed all of the roads to his farm, and he had to drive his tractor to town to get feed for his birds.

 Other clips focus on farmers’ initiatives in the areas of research, education and agricultural innovation.

 The six month long campaign also includes 13 media releases that will be distributed to community radio stations and newspapers. These also tell the stories of additional farmers and some of the animal care initiatives they’ve undertaken on their farms. The campaign continues upon OFAC’s efforts to introduce consumers to the local farmers who supply the food they eat. 

Funding for this project is being provided, in part, through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food Program. This is a collective outcome partnership with OFAC’s sister groups and the Agricultural Adaptation Council in Ontario, the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council, the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development and the Alberta Agriculture and Food Council.

 The Ontario Farm Animal Council is the voice for animal agriculture, representing over 40,000 livestock and poultry farmers, associations and businesses on issues in animal agriculture such as animal care, food safety, biotechnology and the environment.

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For more information: 

Kelly Daynard, Program Manager, Ontario Farm Animal Council

Phone: (519) 837-1326  email: kdaynard@ofac.org