2019 Best of CAMA Finalistt

Finalist Announcement

The Best of CAMA Awards Finalists were announced yesterday evening. With that, we are extremely excited to share that "The Impact Farming Show" has been announced as a finalist for the “Audio/Video: Broadcast news, webinars, podcasts or taped programs” category.

The episode that is up for consideration is “A Farmer’s Journey Through Stress, Depression, and Anxiety” with Gerry Friesen from Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was episode 23 and it aired on January 9, 2019.

Here is a snapshot of this episode and why we felt that it deserved added recognition:

One of the most crucial and difficult subjects in the agriculture industry right now is mental health. More than any other profession, farming has the highest suicide rate of all. Even more unbelievable than that is the fact that farmer suicide rate is double that of suicides among veterans.

When we heard Gerry Friesen's very personal story and his courageous ability to speak about it, we knew that we had to have him on the show.

By trade, Gerry is a Stress & Conflict Management Specialist and through his consulting practice he helps farmers through some of the hardest situations that farmers can face. Gerry's expertise and skill at helping farmers navigate the hard stuff is hard-won through his own personal farming struggles.

Gerry has worked with clients for decades and throughout all that time he has never shared his full story with anyone. Only bits and pieces here and there to help provide clients with insights as needed. He was approached to speak at an agriculture event and he decided that it was time to open up and share his story. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience and the feedback was amazing.

After a heart-wrenching presentation, Tracy sat down with Gerry Friesen and he shared his story in a one hour interview titled "A Farmer's Journey Through Stress, Depression, and Anxiety."

In this episode, Gerry shared his story of growing up in a farming family and continuing on the family tradition. He shared about the hard times that struck the hog industry and how everything went into a free fall downwards including his farming operation, his income and livelihood, and his mental health.

Gerry opened up on camera with Tracy and shared the gut-wrenching details of his very personal struggles. Stress, depression, anxiety, and dark thoughts. He shared it all. Anyone listening to this podcast was frozen in their seats. As Gerry and Tracy spoke, tears and emotion welled up in Tracy's eyes.

As they worked their way from farming bliss to nightmare and back, Gerry shared his path of healing. He shared all his failed attempts at "curing" himself, and all the dark days, until finally something worked. He shared his message of hope and words of encouragement to our audience. "You are not alone and there are resources and help out there. Don't give up!"

If you missed this episode, you can catch it here.

We felt this episode was one of the most IMPACTFUL episodes of Season #1 and our audience agreed. It was one of the fastest downloaded episodes and the comments and feedback poured in. We wanted to thank Gerry once again for sharing his story with The Impact Farming Show and our audience of farmers from across Canada. #strongenoughtoshare

A big thank you also goes out to all our loyal audience members. Your continued support, viewership and words of encouragement continue to fuel us in our mission to bring Canadian farmers the people and ideas that will IMPACT their farming operation.

Mark your calendars and follow along with us as we celebrate the best of the best in Canadian Agriculture Marketing at the Best of CAMA Awards Gala on November 14, 2019.

More About Best of CAMA:

The Best of CAMA is our industry’s annual showcase of creativity, marketing, and communications expertise. The Best of CAMA is our industry’s “Academy Awards” where peers award peers for their effort and ability. There are over 50 categories in the competition – radio, television, PR, total campaigns, crisis management, etc.

The Best of CAMA Awards is an annual event that rotates between CAMA’s chapters located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Each year, the Best of CAMA awards banquet provides an opportunity for the industry to acknowledge outstanding achievement.