Islanders love local food

(Prince Edward) Islanders appear to be in love with local food, but whether that warmth transfers to the farmer will be determined in the final report of a research paper being complied by an Island grad student.
Lorraine MacKinnon has conducted a survey on the perceptions of agriculture and early indications show 95 per cent of Islanders are abreast and interested in agricultural issues.
"Agriculture is an enormous contributor to our economy and from my early research it would appear Islanders are very aware of that and demonstrate a high level of interest in farming,'' she said in an interview with The Guardian.
Entitled, In the Limelight or Under the Microscope: How Do Islanders Perceive P.E.I.'s Farmers?, the research consists of 400 phone interviews with non-farmers conducted across the Island regarding the importance of agriculture to Prince Edward Island's economy, the justification for government financial support to farmers, the presence of large processing and farming operations, rural sustainability and the environmental impact of farming operations.
However, the master's student who grew up on a potato farm in West Cape says she's sifting through the data and her final report won't be completed until the end of September.
"There appears to be a strong sense of loyalty to buying local food and supporting our farmers,'' she said.
On 1,700 farms, Prince Edward Island produces 152,000 acres of wheat, oats, barley and mixed grain, 12,000 acres of soybeans, 23 different types of vegetables and under 90,000 acres of potatoes valued at over $200 million a year, making up more than 50 per cent of farm cash receipts.
However, there are two sides of the equation being determined and while 'buy local' and 'support the farmer' themes are obvious, just how much support is out there is still to be determined.
"We need to know if people support having taxpayers dollars going to farmers for different reasons and determine how environmental issues that were evident over the past few years shape opinion."
MacKinnon, working on her MBA through the University of Guelph, said she'll be deciphering data to determine if respondents are interested in agriculture because of sympathy towards the farmer or in opposition to any tax dollars or incentives from government.
The Prince Edward Island territory manager for Syngenta Canada said her information will be of value to the industry as well and both the PEI Potato Board and Federation of Agriculture are awaiting the final report. -The Guardian