In the weeks since I’ve been back at the Grainews desk I’ve had a few people inquire whether we’re looking for material. Answer: yes. Always were. Always are.
You’ve probably noticed over the last few years we don’t lead with the phrase “Written by farmers, for farmers” anymore. That’s not to imply farmers somehow all stopped writing, or worse, that we somehow stopped publishing them; rather, it’s simple math. There are, statistically, fewer of you, more mouths to feed and just as many acres out there if not more to farm, so I know very well that while you have great stories to tell, writing them up for Grainews can slip lower on the to-do list, and understandably so.
To be honest, I wouldn’t have “written by farmers” as a hard rule, even if autonomous tech frees you up to write while on the tractor or combine. First, that’d be dangerous and silly; don’t do it. Past that, though, I don’t want to discourage anyone else from writing to us. Do you have a family member, friend or neighbour who’s interested in writing up your story? Put them in touch with us. No? Get in touch with us anyway. We’ve got seasoned pros around here, keenly interested in supporting farmers by sharing your experiences with others in your line of work.
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Do we pay? We do, but you’ll need to discuss that with us before we publish; the amounts aren’t carved in stone. We don’t pay by the word because that doesn’t always represent the work that goes into an article, but hopefully we make it worth your while. Now, if you or someone you know is interested in submitting material directly to Grainews, read on.
What we do
Say there’s an article in this issue you especially like: what did you like about it? Did it answer questions you’ve had in mind, or that came up in conversation with other farmers? Did it tell a story to which you relate because you’ve been there or you know someone who has? Did it raise questions you now want to ask yourself about your farm and the business? Did it have information worth filing away, whether in your own head or wherever you keep your back issues or bookmarked web pages, for future reference? Yes? Thank you very much, because for me, that article’s now officially a complete success. That’s my goal as editor when you write your story or tell it to someone who will.
You already know our focus: we’re a journal providing practical production information for people growing field crops on the Canadian Prairies, and those are the stories we’re here to tell. We’re a leaner publication now so we’ve not got the space to talk as much about policy and politics; that’s for our farm newspaper colleagues across the country. But we do want to know and show how you’ve adapted your on-farm work when ag policy directly affects it. Past that, when you get in touch with us about some topics, I may at times suggest what you want to write is better suited as a letter to the editor. And yes, we still publish those too.
On point
Part of the editor’s job is to hunt down and dispatch words, phrases or paragraphs that don’t advance a story. I might also have to cut carefully just to get an article to fit in the space we have. Having written and been heavily edited myself, I’d prefer not to have to do any of that, but I’ve already done so today with this column alone.
I never wrote for John Clark, the late founding editor of Grainews, but I’m told his advice to farmers was always to “Write like you speak, with short sentences and no big words.” I’m sure he didn’t mean to suggest anyone’s story be just a stripped-down summary with no helpful detail or personality, and neither do I. But I would say — to borrow a phrase from William Strunk Jr., of The Elements of Style fame — good writing makes “every word tell.”
Illustrate
I won’t say a picture’s worth 1,000 words; I’ve seen some worth way more, others far less. But clear, close and well-lit and focused photos of your practical problem and/or solution — whether it’s in the field, bin, shop, barn or yard — will always add value to your story. Send the highest-resolution file you can; a file size under 1 MB looks fine on a screen, but will end up either a pixelated blur or the size of a postage stamp on a printed page.
Closing notes
If you’ve read through your Jan. 2 issue, you’ll have seen the final Rancher’s Diary column by Heather Smith Thomas, a longtime contributor to the Cattleman’s Corner section of Grainews. We’ve long enjoyed Heather’s dispatches from the ranch in Idaho and I still have her Guide To Raising Beef Cattle close at hand on my shelf — right next to The Elements of Style, in fact. But we’ve needed to make business decisions in recent months with the goal of positioning Grainews and our other publications for the future and unfortunately that includes changes within the pages.
We’re talking about those changes in this space today to let you know this issue [Feb. 6] includes the last instalment from the Singing Gardener, Ted Meseyton of Portage la Prairie, Man., whose columns have been with us for about two decades. We wish the Grow-It Poet the best as the days get longer heading into what we all hope is a productive spring.
