Mabel Hamilton

Mabel Hamilton

Connecting with the public

Canadian agriculture has a great story to tell — as well as an enormous and diverse range of career opportunities. Mabel Hamilton, an Alberta teacher and beef farmer, has spent decades helping members of Canada’s farming community engage the wider public on both points. A teacher by training, Hamilton has been involved with organizations within Canada’s beef sector for 40 years. She was an early proponent of showing the wider public how food makes it from the farm to their table, at a time when many did not think that doing so was important. “Because I was a school teacher, I saw there was a lack of understanding on what farmers did,” she says. One of her first forays into public outreach was starting an agricultural program for grade school students, and later, in-store events in which producers from Alberta’s beef sector could connect directly with people buying groceries. Many other programs and initiatives have followed since. Hamilton was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2022, in part because of her lifelong commitment to public engagement and education. Hamilton continues to be involved in public outreach. Now a board member for Olds College, an agriculturefocused post-secondary institution, she’s focused on highlighting the job opportunities available in Canada’s farm and food sector. “I want to encourage young people, whether urban or rural, to know there’s a huge number of jobs in our industry.”