Young farm girl speaks up for agriculture

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This article was published 18/01/2023 (1169 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Meet Mady Adamson, the young farm girl turned social media celebrity who is turning heads with her videos that promote an understanding of agriculture.

Adamson said her work advocating for agriculture began in April 2021. When her class had been studying agriculture, she was disappointed to learn that some of her classmates lacked firsthand information.

“So I thought, ‘Hey, I can help,’” Adamson, 10, said Tuesday during a speaker session at Manitoba Ag Days. “So I went and made four videos on the farm that weekend, and I brought them to class and my classmates really liked them.”

Local residents got the chance to learn more about the young social media influencer during a question-and-answer session at Ag Days: “Fifth Generation Farmer: Learning About Ag with Mady.” During the session, which had an interview format, Adamson answered friendly questions from Brad Crammond, an Austin-area farmer and the chairperson of Manitoba Ag Days.

Adamson shared her motivation for creating her videos that show life on her family’s grain farm near Rosetown, Sask., which has operated for more than 100 years.

“Me and my brother are fifth generation on our farm,” she told the audience.

“And my ancestors came over from Scotland and completed our first land purchase in 1917.”

In her videos posted to YouTube, Adamson uses her farm to explain where food comes from, farm operations, how farm equipment works, and to share some of the crops grown on the farm and what they’re used for.

“I know what I know because I’ve helped on the farm since I was born,” Adamson said.

“Since you were a little kid?” Crammond asked, playfully.

“Yeah.”

Adamson’s knowledge of her farm and her ability to share it was on display when Crammond asked her about who works there. Adamson listed family members, but also included other farm supporters.

“We also have a full-time employee, but to keep a farm running you also need those off-farm help, like grain brokers, retailers and mechanics,” she responded.

Adamson said she found herself fielding more questions about agriculture from adults than she was from kids.

Her videos now number 76 and her YouTube channel, Learning About Ag with Mady, has 884 subscribers.

The farm girl’s new-found fame has led to some travel, a TV appearance, an introduction in the Saskatchewan legislature and a chance to do an interview with that province’s premier, Scott Moe.

She also ventured into fashion when she had hats made adorned with a logo a friend created for her, the sale of which raised money for STARS air ambulance.

Her advocacy for agriculture recently earned her a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal.

Based on her answer to a question from the audience during Tuesday’s presentation about her plans once she graduates from high school, it sounds like Adamson’s passion for learning about agriculture and sharing her knowledge with others isn’t about to stop any time soon.

“I think I’m going to teach agriculture at a college somewhere,” she said.

At least half a dozen girls roughly Adamson’s age were in the audience, and young sisters Leah and Jordyn Phillips, who live on a farm near Brandon, had the chance to meet her. Leah Phillips said Adamson has an important job in sharing what she knows about agriculture.

“If there wasn’t any people interested in ag, there wouldn’t be any food,” Phillips said.

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