With this year's calendar, the stories of 100 Ontario farm families have now been featured within the calendar's pages since it was first produced.

2013 Faces of Farming calendar

All of the calendar's models are real, working farmers and hail from all parts of the province. As the calendar shows, there's no such thing as a typical farmer.

Their farms are as diverse as the individuals. They range in age from 2 to 78 and produce a variety of crops and livestock from lavender to poultry; fish and mink; beef, pork and soybeans, corn and dairy.

New this year, a QR code found on each calendar page allows viewers to scan the bar codes from their mobile devices to "meet" the farmers. Each of the codes provides a direct link to short YouTube interviews with each participant. All calendar pages and video links can also be seen on the Farm & Food Care website here.

This year's calendar page participants and sponsors include:
 

•  January - Michelle Voskamp of Carrying Place (Prince Edward County), sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
   
• February -  Justin and Jeff McLellan of Chatham (Chatham-Kent Region), sponsored by the Canada Mink Breeders and Ontario Fur Breeders' Association
   
• March - Dan, Arlene, Adriana and Marissa Glofcheskie of Espanola (Sudbury District), sponsored by North Wind Fisheries Inc. and Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association
   
• April and cover-   Harry, Paul, Steven and Evan Vanderzanden of St. Ann's  (Niagara Region), sponsored by Turkey Farmers of Ontario and New Life Mills 
   
• May - Cindy, Emma and Leah Schillings of Oshawa (Durham Region), sponsored by Egg Farmers of Ontario
   
• June -   Thelma Trask of Alma (Wellington County), sponsored by Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited
   
• July - Anita Buehner of Waterford  (Norfolk County),  sponsored by the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association
   
• August -   Fred and Gerald Van Osch of Mount Carmel (Huron and Middlesex Counties), sponsored by Monsanto Canada
   
• September -   Kelsey Ottens of Petrolia (Lambton County), sponsored by the Ontario Broiler Chicken Hatching Egg Producers Association
   
• October -  Justin Dorland of Brighton (Northumberland County), sponsored by Grain Farmers of Ontario
   
• November -  Stephanie Campbell of Perth (Lanark County), sponsored by the Farmers Feed Cities campaign and Burnbrae Farms
   
•  December -  Cory and Heidi Van Groningen of Cayuga (Haldimand/Norfolk County), sponsored by RBC Royal Bank
   
• January, 2013  Bob McMillan, Julie Moore, Nolan and Reid of Gadshill (Perth County), sponsored by the Farm & Food Care Foundation
   

Complimentary copies of the calendar will be mailed as Christmas presents from Ontario's farmers to politicians, grocery stores, butcher shops and media.

Again this year, the calendar will be sold at all TSC stores across Ontario beginning later this week. It is also available through the Farm & Food Care office in Guelph, by using the online order form at www.farmfoodcare.org or by calling 519-837-1326. 

Calendar participants and creative team at the 2012 Ontario Harvest Gala

Staff from Burnbrae Farms join representatives from the Farm & Food Care Foundation in making a funding announcement at the Ontario Harvest Gala

Burnbrae Farms Ltd. has announced a $250,000 donation to the Farm & Food Care Foundation.  The announcement was made at the Foundation's annual Harvest Gala in Guelph last week generating a standing ovation from the capacity crowd. It is the largest commitment made yet to the two-year-old charity.
 

 "We're excited to announce our commitment to this worthwhile cause," said Margaret Hudson, President of Burnbrae Farms.  She added, "We're looking forward to working with the Foundation on a series of new and exciting initiatives, all designed to introduce the public to the farmers producing their food and building public confidence in food and farming in Canada."
 

Burnbrae Farms is a family owned and operated company that has been producing eggs for almost 70 years.  With farms in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, Burnbrae Farms is one of Canada's leading egg producers.  Burnbrae Farms sells eggs and egg products to major grocery store chains, food service operations and large bakery and industrial customers throughout Canada.
 

Burnbrae Farms has long been an active supporter of work done first by the Ontario Farm Animal Council and now by its successor, Farm & Food Care Ontario and its new national charity, the Farm & Food Care Foundation.
 

In making the announcement at the Ontario Harvest Gala, Bruce Christie, Foundation chair, said, "Burnbrae Farms investment clearly confirms its commitment to Canadian farmers, suppliers and Burnbrae customers."  Christie added, "This commitment will enable our foundation to expand our efforts nationally on behalf of the Canadian agri-food sector." 
 
Each year over the five-year agreement, staff from the Foundation and Burnbrae Farms will meet to determine funding priorities.  In 2013, the funds will be put towards expanding the Foundation's Virtual Farm tour project (www.virtualfarmtours.ca). Over the last decade, Burnbrae Farms has already contributed a significant amount of funding to developing egg farm virtual farm tours on that website. The new funding will add new tours to the site and help to update its design platform to be tablet and mobile user friendly. 
   

Named for the late farm leader (and former vice chair of the Ontario Farm Animal Council) who founded Ontario Pork's Donate-A-Hog program in 1998, the Paul Mistele Memorial Award recognizes agricultural partners who have shown a significant and enduring commitment to ending hunger in Ontario.
 

"Mike and Frank Whittamore, owners and operators of Whittamore's Farm in Markham, have been incredible partners to the Ontario Association of Food Banks for many years," said Bill Laidlaw, Executive Director of the OAFB. "Through our Community Harvest Ontario program, Whittamore's Farm has donated thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to Ontarians in need."
 

Community Harvest Ontario works to address the growing need for healthy, fresh food in food banks by partnering groups of volunteers with local farms across the province. Whittamore's Farm has been an ongoing partner since the program's launch in 2009 and continues to be a community leader in addressing hunger in Ontario.
 

Past recipients of the Paul Mistele Memorial Award include Ontario Pork (2008); the Ontario Dairy Council, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, and Ontario Milk Transport Association (2009); Nature Fresh Farms in Leamington (2010); and Turkey Farmers of Ontario (2011).

 Custom Christmas Cards support
Farm & Food Care Foundation

Looking ahead to the holiday spirit, the Farm & Food Care Foundation is once again offering Christmas or Season's Greetings cards for the 2012 season.

In lieu of gifts to your members or clients, your organization can make a donation of $500 to the Farm & Food Care Foundation and order a customized Christmas card. 

A customized card will be created featuring your logo for you to distribute to your members, customers and clients. 

Some groups chose to email the graphics last year, others chose to have cards printed.  We would be happy to arrange printing for you or send the print ready graphic files to you for printing yourself.

It's a simple and effective way to show your support for agriculture's efforts in building public trust and confidence in food and farming. 

Contact the office to get your order in for this year's season.

Christmas card option one

Christmas card option two

   

 

100 Stone Road West, Suite 106

Guelph, ON

N1G 5L3

519-837-1326

www.farmfoodcare.org

Twitter: @farmfoodcare

Email: info@farmfoodcare.org