Social media a way to stay connected during pandemic

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This article was published 29/05/2021 (1958 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rob Stone didn’t intend to make any waves when he randomly tweeted out his thoughts as he watched the storm clouds brewing over his Davidson, Sask., farm earlier this month.

Sure, there was rain in the forecast, but it wouldn’t be the first time a promising forecast evaporated. Still, he was hopeful enough that he wanted to share the joy.

Farmers across the Prairies this spring had to gamble that some badly needed rains would come as they poured hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of seed and fertilizer into the ground. Stone, who grows canola, lentils, wheat and barley in the south-central part of the province, was trying to remain optimistic.

“But it was becoming a bit more alarming this year. We haven’t seen any sort of significant rain since last July,” he said during a Zoom interview. It wouldn’t be long before they were in big trouble. “As seeding progressed, it became a bit more of a thing.”

As he pondered how much he had riding on that rain, another thought came to mind.

“It was a pretty simple little thing. I was just driving down the road in my old truck, and you’ve got a pallet of canola seed in the back and you’re thinking about the things that you’ve got to do today, and the wind is picking up, and you’re thinking — ‘Ha, we should do something about this.’”

Farming is a lifestyle that comes with a lot of solitude. Twitter has become a community of sorts for farmers as they work the land; a place in real time to share experiences, frustrations, ideas and feelings.

Stone issued a challenge. He pledged that if he received an inch of moisture, he was going to donate $1,000 to charity and he openly wondered if others would do the same.

The idea took off like a Prairie windstorm. Before long, his Twitter feed was filled with farmers matching his pledge and by the time we talked, his pledge had been viewed 250,000 times.

“It wasn’t intended to be any type of a great campaign or anything else,” he said. “But a person would be lying if they didn’t smile a little bit. It was sort of a dumb little idea that kind of took hold and I think it’s done a lot of good, so I think that’s great.”

While it remains to be seen how many pledges are fulfilled, his story shines a light on the hunger for connection among farmers at a time when getting together isn’t possible. In pre-pandemic times, a rainy day was a boon for local eating establishments and businesses in town as people forced to pause fieldwork enjoyed a day or evening out.

His idea also tapped the farming community’s inherent generosity. That didn’t surprise him so much as the enthusiasm.

“It really caught some traction with people who said, ‘Let’s do this’… People are very willing, and want to share their good fortunes in every way that they can, and celebrate some of our successes,”

It speaks volumes about another reality for rural Canada. Many of the “charities” farmers were pledging to support, organizations such as STARS air ambulance, local day cares and health-care facilities, provide necessary services urban Canadians take for granted.

The moisture did come in varying amounts. His came in part as snow. Stone’s chosen charity is 4-H, noting the public speaking he learned as part of that youth-development program is at least partly responsible for “my ability to sit here and have a chat with you.”

With seeding nearing completion, the injection of moisture is enough to get crops growing. Now farmers in many parts of the Prairies are evaluating the impact of three nights of frost this week.

While some reseeding may take place, they will be carefully sizing up the odds. A late-seeded crop automatically yields less, plus it risks frost damage in the fall.

And it’s still dry.

“They do say seed into dust and the bins will bust, so we’ve done our part. Hopefully, Nature will continue to provide for us,” Stone said.

Laura Rance is vice-president of content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com