by Patricia Grotenhuis, lifelong farmer and agricultural advocate
Hunger relief efforts by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank have been given a big boost by a group of farmers, who set a world record in the process.
Although there were several date changes due to the weather forecast, on October 5, 115 farmers combined a 160 acre soybean field simultaneously in Perth County, Ontario in an event called “Harvest 4 Hunger”. The crop was harvested in 11 minutes and 43.9 seconds, according to the release sent by the organizers. Although it was not fast enough to beat a Manitoba wheat harvest record as the fastest harvest ever, it was a great effort.
More importantly, though, it raised approximately $250,000 for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to use towards fighting hunger around the world, exceeding the $200,000 goal set by event organizers.
Following the harvest, an auction was held to sell the soybeans. The release also states the first bushel sold to the public brought $1000, and the first two lots of 1,600 bushels sold for $36 per bushel to the grain trade, which is well above market value. It is estimated the yield was 8,000 bushels.
In addition to the crowd of approximately 3,000 people who watched the event, there were also two fixed wing aircraft, three helicopters and many video cameras documenting the harvest.
Once the final weights of grain are known, organizers will have a more accurate total for the amount of money raised. On the day of the event, lunch was available by donation to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and the public can “donate a bushel” for $20 on the Canadian Foodgrains Bank website.
The link for the website is: https://secure.peaceworks.ca/cfgb/donate/donation_make_form?notes=Donate%20a%20Bushel to donate a bushel.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of Christian churches and Christian-based agencies. It is active in hunger relief efforts in developing countries.
Posted by FFC on October 12th, 2011 :: Filed under
Canada,
Consumers,
Education and public awareness,
Farm life,
Feeding the world,
Food,
Media,
Sustainability of the family farmTags ::
education,
Farmers,
food,
technology
