On November 27 and December 11, 2019, Farm and Food Care Ontario provided two sessions of media training for local farm leaders. OFA’s Proud to Lead committee initiated a call for participants last summer and had the ability to fund 10 participants from county federations across the province. These county representatives received valuable insights on how Canadians view our industry, tips and tricks on how to develop messages that will resonate with the public, and practice sessions preparing and delivering key messages to a live camera during a simulated television style interview. After the first round of interviews, the group had the chance to evaluate each other on their technique, confidence, and wording. Following the evaluation process, a second set of interviews were conducted. This type of training allows local federations to develop a skill and knowledge base for delivering key messages among their leaders and it helps to prepare spokespeople and ambassadors for agriculture across the province.
Funding for the Proud to Lead program is sourced from a partnership between Farm Credit Canada and OFA. The program is designed to engage members and build leaders within the organization.