A new website has been created to help local producers with problems they face while farming in wet fields.
It’s part of the re-launch of the improved Great Stuck in the Muck Photo Contest, put on once again by Flaman Group of Companies after the success of last year’s contest.
This time www.stuckinthemuck.com isn’t just a place for farmers to share photos of their equipment stuck in the mud, it’s now a forum for sharing stories about how they got out of those “sticky” situations.
“We’ve added a Getting Unstuck Tips forum where farmers can leave helpful information and advice on how they got their combine or tractor unstuck, along with their photos,” says Steve Whittington, an executive at Flaman Group of Companies, which has locations in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia and Ontario. “Producers visiting the site can also leave comments or ask questions. We need everyone to share their knowledge, so we can help each other with farming in the mud.”
Agricultural producers from across Canada can upload their best and muddiest “stuck” photos to the site, which will be voted on by the public in October. New this year, the public will vote for their favourite photos in a variety of categories, like Best Sprayer Stuck, Best Truck Stuck, Most Comical or Muddiest Digger. Along with receiving a new tow rope as a prize, winning photos will appear in a 2012 calendar, with proceeds from calendar sales supporting local charities.
“This is essentially Facebook for farmers – a place where they can share common experiences and just have a fun time,” says Whittington. “We started this contest last year to create a sense of community for producers in Saskatchewan who went through such a wet and rainy year. And now it’s just grown from there.”
“With a wet spring across the prairies again this year, our hope is that someone reading the forum would learn what to do if they got stuck. They could use that advice to get unstuck much quicker and easier, saving time and money,” adds Jennifer Thompson, with Flaman’s marketing department.
You can upload and view photos at www.stuckinthemuck.com until Sept. 30. Voting will begin Oct. 1 and go until Oct. 31, with winners announced in November. There will be random winners selected as well, so everyone has a chance to win.