Since I was named publisher of The Western Producer a few weeks ago, I aimed to connect with farmers and farm families to gather feedback. I wanted to share how I’m doing and what I’m learning.
First, I want to thank everyone who was generous with their time and provided me with honest feedback about the newspaper and our website. I really enjoyed talking with farmers these past few weeks. I did a lot of that earlier on in my career with Grainews and enjoyed it then, too.
I’ve set a goal of talking to 100 farmers, and I’m almost halfway there with 44 conversations. I know you will be in the field again soon, which means you will have much better things to do than talk to me. But if you do have a few minutes while you are in the tractor to shoot the breeze, please give me a call. My goal as publisher is to help The Western Producer be a valuable asset on your farm and for your family.
For those of you who are curious, these are the top three things I’m hearing from farmers:
- If farmers have livestock, they want more livestock articles. Not a surprise, but we do have a lot of livestock content. We will begin working to organize it better in print and online so it’s more concentrated and farmers don’t miss out on the articles they need. We are also working on a new project to help organize our farm management and production content in new ways to meet the needs of grain farmers. I’ll share more and ask for your feedback when we launch this in the next few weeks.
- The Western Producer classifieds section in the newspaper isn’t the same as it used to be. I think we all know that this section won’t ever be as big as it was in the 1980s and 1990s, when it landed on the table with a thud. But the quality is still there. Every day, farmers and businesses are still calling us to place ads. I don’t know many farmers or farm businesses that waste their money. What sets us apart from some of the other free options out there is that The Western Producer classifieds and auction attract serious buyers who are ready to purchase. Those farmers and farm business owners tell us that the free alternatives such as Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace can be like a farm show that does not charge an entry fee. You get a lot more tire kickers at a free farm show, which makes it hard to wade through.
- And, as some of you share on social media, farmers are encouraging me to make sure we get both sides of the story — some readers have told me they feel our stories can lack balance sometimes. I want you to know that our editorial team is always striving for balance and working to cover the news that impacts farmers and farm families in different ways. We have a team of staff reporters, analysts, freelance contributors and columnists who aim to share many different viewpoints. In this area we are always open to hearing from farmers and encourage you to send a letter to the editor, share an opinion piece or raise your hand if you want to learn how to contribute.
These are all things I take to heart and our team at The Western Producer will be working on to improve.
On these matters, and any other matter, I encourage you to reach out to me. My email is [email protected] and if you share your number with me, I’d welcome the chance to chat with you. We also welcome feedback online at , where we ask for input on a weekly article and gather input from our subscribers.
Here’s to dry fields to get seeding started, some sunshine and a bit of rain soon after, healthy calves running in the pasture and most of all, the safety of you and your family during the busy seeding season.
Cory Bourdeaud’hui is publisher of The Western Producer.
