Wheatley family educating Canadians on farm life in documentary

CTV Windsor: Real Farm Lives A Wheatley family is part of a documentary to educate Canadians about farmed food on their tables. Melanie Borrelli reports.

A Wheatley family is part of a new documentary to educate Canadians about where our food comes from and the the challenges of modern day farming.

Chris Renwick is proud of his family farm that dates back 200 years.

The Renwick family, who grows corn and soybeans, was selected to be part of a six-episode documentary "Real Farm Lives."

"We were thrilled to do it,” says Chris Renwick. “We're glad to promote agriculture and we're proud farmers and we'd like to get our story out there and let people understand what we're really doing here on the farm."

Renwick says it was an interesting process.

“Probably took almost three days to get all of the different takes," says Renwick

His wife Rachel, along with their three children are also featured in the first two episodes of the documentary.

"I was pretty proud of Chris,” says Rachel Renwick. “He works really hard on the farm and for our family."

The documentary is produced by CropLife Canada.

"Our hope is that Real Farms Lives helps to better create a connection for Canadians to farming and to help them better understand and appreciate," says CropLife president Pierre Petelle.

A survey from the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity reveals 93 per cent of Canadians say they know very little about farming.

"I wouldn't say it's surprising,” says Chris Renwick. “I think we come across a lot of people who don't understand what we're doing. They see a lot of things on the internet that they read and maybe it isn't always what we're doing."

Some of the challenges Chris Renwick talks about is erosion along the shores of Lake Erie and the agronomy behind the choices farmers make.

"There is a lot of science and technology behind what we're doing and it's not just something we've grabbed off a shelf and put in a field," he says.

The documentary was released in late October and the Renwick family says they've already been getting positive reviews.

Rachel Renwick says the family was impressed with the final product.

"You know when we got a sneak peak of our first episode, it was so amazing,” says Rachel Renwick. “We all had tears in our eyes.”

The series also features two other families the Englot family of Costa Lotta Farms in Montmartre, Saskatchewan and the Ardiel family of Apple Springs Orchards in Clarksburg, Ont.