Farm & Food Care Board of Directors elected

April 17's annual meeting in Waterloo marked the official wrap up of the Ontario Farm Animal Council and AGCare and the launch of the amalgamated Farm & Food Care Ontario.

Elections for the first Board of Directors of the new organization were held at the meeting. There were races in all three categories of at large, crop and livestock.
  

• Bruce Christie - two year term (Nutreco Canada Inc.)
• Heather Copland - two year term (Grober Inc.)
• Lianne Appleby - one year term (Hendrix Genetics)
• Ed Scharringa - one year term (Christian Farmers' Federation of Ontario)

Livestock:
  

• John Maaskant - two year term (Chicken Farmers of Ontario)
• Beth Clark - two year term (Ontario Pork)
• Gerald Rollins - one year term (Ontario Cattlemen's Association)
• Murray Sherk - one year term (Dairy Farmers of Ontario)

Crop:

• Larry Lynn - two year term (Grain Farmers of Ontario)
•  Joe Hickson - two year term (Ontario Seed Growers' Association)
• Jim Poel - one year term (Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers' Association)
• Marinus Bakker - one year term (Ontario Bean Producers' Marketing Board) 

The executive of the new Board of Directors will be voted on at the first board meeting, scheduled for later this month. 

Building Better Bridges

Attendees to AGM given call to action 

Awards presented to Minister and longtime supporters of OFAC and AGCare

Minister Ted McMeekin, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was the wrap-up speaker of the annual meeting. McMeekin congratulated the industry on the creation of the new coalition and said that agriculture will be stronger for its united voice. 

 

McMeekin also accepted a plaque on behalf of OMAFRA for its years of support of OFAC and AGCare. The award was given by interim co-chairmen John Maaskant and Paul Wettlaufer who also presented plaques to OFAC and AGCare founding member organizations for their 25 years of support of the two groups.

 

Minister McMeekin (Centre) is shown with interim Farm & Food Care co-chairmen Paul Wettlaufer (left) and John Maaskant.

Farm & Food Care Champion Award
 

Jeff Robinson of Osgoode, Ontario, has been named the recipient of the inaugural Farm & Food Care Champion Award.

 

The award was presented at Farm & Food Care's first annual meeting on April 17. Robinson, an attendee at the meeting, was a surprised recipient of the honour bestowed upon him by Bruce Christie, a Farm & Food Care board member, and Minister Ted McMeekin, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Robinson was nominated for the award by the Ottawa Federation of Agriculture and Ontario Pork. 
 

 

He is well known throughout Eastern Ontario as the "Travellin' Farmer".  Each year, he and his team of family members and enthusiastic farm students work as agricultural ambassadors at many fall fairs and programs, talking to the public about food and farming.  Jeff has coordinated and managed exhibits in eastern Ontario on behalf of a number of Ontario commodity groups including Ontario Pork, Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Turkey Farmers of Ontario, Farm & Food Care Ontario and others. 
 

Champion award winner Jeff Robinson (centre) with Minister Ted McMeekin (left) and Farm & Food Care Board member Bruce Christie.

Nominators described Robinson as having an "innovative and entrepreneurial spirit".  Although not raised on a farm, he said that it was the "diversity of the industry" that attracted him to farming. He's continually upgrading his exhibits to keep them fresh and interesting  - adding live animals, video components, interactive quizzes and games.
 

He and his wife Eleanor, both graduates of the University of Guelph, operate Tilecroft Farms, a third generation family dairy farm.  Each summer, Tilecroft  Farms hires students to work both on the farm and at the road show events.  Jeff believes that agriculture is an exciting, diverse and challenging industry with many opportunities which is why he gives his students a diverse summer employment experience - both working on the farm and off, talking to the public about farming. 

 The Friend of the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) Award was created in 1999 to recognize individuals, organizations and businesses that have helped to inform the public or the agri-food industry about animal agriculture.  With the recent amalgamation of the Ontario Farm Animal Council and AGCare, the award has been renamed the Farm & Food Care Champion award and will be presented annually to a worthy agricultural advocate.
  

JFAO chooses Farm & Food Care as its provincial charity  

The Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario (JFAO) has chosen the Farm & Food Care Foundation as its provincial charity for 2012. The decision was made by delegates to  JFAO's March Conference, held in Peterborough on March 31.

Each year Junior Farmer members, through their local clubs donate tens of thousands of dollars to local community organizations and projects across Ontario as well as  hundreds of hours of volunteer service. In addition to their many local charitable initiatives, clubs from across the province together select an annual provincial charity to dedicate a portion of their fundraising efforts to in order to better make a difference.

This year, delegates heard presentations from representatives of three charities, including one by Heather Hargrave of Farm & Food Care Ontario, before making its decision.  JFAO members will be raising funds through various events in the coming year with proceeds being presented to the Farm & Food Care Foundation.

Sarah McLaren, JFAO's 2012 president, said, "On behalf of JFAO I am very excited for our partnership with Farm and Food Care Foundation to begin. It will be our pleasure to work with them and to see how together we can further agriculture awareness and education."

Bruce Christie, Chair of the Farm & Food Care Foundation, said that funds raised by the JFAO will be put towards programs that enhance public trust and confidence in Ontario agriculture. Said Christie, "We're very pleased that JFAO has chosen to support our foundation in 2012. The Foundation shares JFAO's passion for farmers, farm and food. It's really meaningful to have a rural organization supporting a rural charity like ours."