Congratulations to the newly formed Atlantic Canada Farm Writers’ Association, the sixth association under the umbrella of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation. The 12-person charter group, led by federation senator Allison Finnamore, assembled earlier this month in the cradle of Canadian confederation, Charlottetown, PEI.
Allison writes about the experience on her blog , and cites these reasons for having a local farm writers’ group:
- Farmers and agriculture — around the world, throughout our country or in our own back yard — have important stories to tell, and we need to help them.
- We need to gather together to share our experiences about what works and what doesn’t work when we tell these stories.
- We need to learn about the new practices farmers are adopting and how they’re working on the farm.
- We need to stay informed and up-to-date with the latest communication methods.
- We need to polish our photography skills and sharpen our reporting proficiency.
- We need to network with each other.
Good luck to this new group of agricultural journalists and communications professionals. Thanks to the anonymous security guard who took the photo of the group, which included Gwyn Bellefontaine (third from left), a former agricultural communications student of mine at the University of Guelph, along with Allison, fourth from the right.
Charter members of the Atlantic Canada Farm Writers' Association: (from left) Andy Walker (PEI), Wayne MacKinnon (PEI), Gwyn Bellefontaine (PEI), George Fullarton (NB), Allison Finnamore (NB), Wayne Riley (PEI), Jeanne Whitehead (NB) and Nina Linton (PEI).
