On September 1, Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan hosted a student tour for second-year dietitian students on their first day of university. This year’s tour included a visit to Colborn Farms outside Saskatoon and to the Rayner Dairy Research and Teaching Facility on campus.
The partnership with the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition began when Dr. Gord Zello was invited to join FFC SK’s Food Influencer Tour about a decade ago. That connection grew into a similar one-day experience for students in the college. Dr. Zello’s goal was to ensure that future dietitians understood what farmers and ranchers did to grow the food we all love. Dr. Zello passed away this spring, but his legacy lives on; the student tour is now a mandatory course in the curriculum for dietitian students.
As with all our tours, we like to track what tour guest think before and after farm tours. Students were asked a variety of questions to measure how much their understanding of agriculture has changed as a result of the tour. As in past years the results indicate a deeper and more positive appreciation of primary production. Below is an example of one of those questions asked.
How well informed would you say you feel about farming practices in Canada?
| Not Informed | Slightly Informed | Somewhat Informed | Well Informed | Very Well Informed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U of S Students Pre Tour | 12% | 23% | 41% | 18% | 6% |
| U of S Students Post Tour | 0% | 0% | 9% | 64% | 27% |
The relationship with the college also includes lectures to students during the class year. The conversations go deeper into the journey food takes from growing to processing, distribution and finally into consumers’ hands. Other topics include agricultural markets, trade and policy, as well as general consumer beliefs about agriculture.
Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan is also widening the scope of its student interactions. This year, the Culinary Arts program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic is taking two classes out to Clinton Monchuk’s farm to see harvesting in action and ask questions while in the field. One class visited Monchuk Farms in Lanigan and the feedlot at Pound-Maker Ag-Ventures on September 11. Another class will experience a similar tour on October 5.
These engagements with students aim to build future food leaders’ understanding of primary agriculture. FFC SK will continue to strengthen its relationship with the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, Sask Polytech and other educational programs in the province.
