Bailey Regier, a film writing and editing student at Sheridan College in Oakville completed a documentary for school on one the most dangerous professions in the developed world: farming.
Her class was assigned in September of 2019 to complete a documentary, about six minutes long, on any topic of their choosing.
Bailey Regier says TJ Klopp, a producer near Zurich, Ont. who was injured in a farm accident was a good subject for her documentary, AgriCulture.
Why it matters: Agriculture, especially farming hazards, is not a common focus for documentaries. Such work helps spread awareness of farming hazards and the sector.
Read Also
Ontario’s agri-food sector sets sights on future with Agri-Food 2050 initiative
The first-ever Agri Food 2050, a one-day industry event dedicated to envisioning the future of food and farming in Ontario,…
Regier was inspired by her grandfather as he was injured in a farm related accident a few years prior.
“I knew my grandfather wouldn’t make a great subject; he’s a stereotypical farmer. I thought it’d be good to find someone younger,” says Regier.
For two days in October Bailey and her crew followed Klopp and his family around their operation and asked many questions related to farming such as what it’s like to be a farmer, what the challenges are on farms, what it’s like to raise a family on a farm and information about his accident.
Klopp was caught in an inadequately shielded PTO shaft and broke his leg in November, 2018. Although the road was long, with three surgeries, he did make a full recovery.
Every day since his accident, Klopp has continued to work on the farm.
“It was pretty serious; he is very lucky to be alive. You would never know (it happened). He has fully recovered and continues to do everything he needs to do.
Regier wanted to be sure Klopp was okay with her telling his story first before she began writing it.
Regier says her classmates were very intrigued by the story, most of them had no idea that the profession of farming was so dangerous.
“I saw the jaws drop when I said that it was the most dangerous profession in the developed world. It was something that people immediately said ‘oh yea, that’s a story that needs to be told.’”
Of the 26 documentaries submitted for the class, AgriCulture was the only one related to agriculture.
“The rural community doesn’t get coverage like those in the urban areas do. I found It was really important and I still think it is important, and (this coverage) will probably continue throughout my career.”
There were 10 crew members involved in this project. A director, producers, director of photography, cameramen and editors.
Regier specifically selected her director, Samantha van der Bent, who grew up on a farm near New Dundee.
“I wanted a director who understood the perspective, the story and could empathize with it.”
Now that the semester is finished, the film is the crews’ to work with.
Regier and van der Bent are looking through numerous film festivals where they can submit the film, specifically focusing on film festivals featuring rural perspectives for a documentary voice.
“There are film festivals all over North America that focus on different topics. You want to specifically submit a film to a festival that is a niche. You have more of a direct rise to an award, giving it more attention.”
The goal for this production would be to find an avenue the film could be distributed through for more people to see and spread awareness.
In the future Regier hopes to partner with agriculture and workplace groups to utilize the video for promotion of workplace hazards.
“TJ and his wife Jocelyn were so generous with their time, they were wonderful to work with, (allowing us) to come in and invade their life for two whole days with all kind of personal questions and following them around.”
“I really do think that it is important that this story is told. I think people need to know the things that farmers go through every single day to feed the world. I feel so privileged to be able to tell this story.”
