From diapers to Diore and discbines to design, Cathryn Hagel does it all.
The self-proclaimed Farmer’s Trophy Wife is part of a growing community of agriculturalists who are using social media to communicate with urbanites and share information among themselves.
“The last thing on a farmer’s mind is to add something to the end of the day but social media is an easy and interesting way to communicate,” said Hagel, 30.
“This is a way for us to get our message out. ‘This is who we are, this is what we do. We are feeding you.’”
She said she is amazed at how many of her urban friends have no idea how food gets on their plates.
“The majority of people really don’t know where their food comes from,” she said. “If you don’t know that, you can’t understand what we do every day to get food to the grocery store. When you are standing in line, you don’t think of who picked that and how they got it to grow.”
Hagel farms 2,000 acres with her husband Troy, just west of Irricana.
They own 200 head of cattle and grow wheat, barley and canola. A former Calgary Stampede Ranchgirl, Hagel is as good with the computer as she is with the reins.
“I had my second baby in December and wanted something to think of other than diapers,” she said. “I thought up this tongue-in-cheek view of what farming is all about and it has really taken off.”
Hagel’s blog (www.farmerstrophywife.com) is a lighthearted look at what it means to be married to a farmer, but she said farmers use social media sites to conduct business, buy and sell products, network and promote agriculture as well.
“My blog is that halfway point between urban and country,” said Hagel.
Recent posts include tips on how to accessorize a white T-shirt, haying, decorating ideas and how to rock a blouse like Victoria Beckham.
“It is interesting and not something you have seen before. There was a niche that was lacking,” she said. “People’s personalities aren’t black and white, there is always a bit of grey in there, in the same vein, people aren’t country or urban. We wear our cowboy boots all day because we have to but we are not 100 per cent western.”
She said she also has many professional friends in the city who are cowboys or cowgirls at heart.
In fact, when she is not on maternity leave, Hagel is a maternity and labour nurse at Peter Lougheed Hospital. The mother of two is also a graduate of SAIT’s journalism program.
Hagel grew up on a farm near Bassano and she said farming has changed dramatically since she was a kid.
“Things are so different now,” she said.
“I think some women are more involved in farming. There are those like me who help out when they can. There are the 50/50 ladies who do the books and drive the combine and then there are the boss ladies who are right there with their hands in everything. They know more than their husbands.”
She said no matter what the involvement, farmers’ wives all have the same goal: “to keep the farm going and feed the world.”
Hagel said she hopes her blog entertains, educates and inspires people. “I will keep doing it and see where it takes me,” she said.
One day, she hopes to write a book about her western lifestyle.
