Meet Christine Wyville, a farmer, ag-retailer, and Junior Farmers Association of Ontario executive—and more—as she helps us celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day on February 22, 2022, by telling Farms.com about herself, her efforts to help others, and just why she loves the farm life. She might just be the most interesting ag person in Ontario.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com, Photo supplied by Christine Wyville
We all know that farm life keeps you busy regardless of the season—but Ontario farmer Christine Wyville finds farm life satisfaction with three jobs: one for family; one for community; and one for the future of Canadian ag.
Although always on the go, Wyville wouldn’t have it any other way.
Along with her duties on the family farm, and as a crop specialist with an ag retailer, the 27-year-old Wyville also lends her considerable talents to the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario (JFAO) to ensure our future farmers have some fun while helping to better their communities.
“I grew up on a dairy, beef and cash crop farm operation in Grey Highlands just outside Markdale, Ontario,” stated Wyville, “though the family farm is currently only in the cash crop business nowadays.”
In her second job, she works for the Huron Bay Cooperative, helping farmers ensure they have the proper seed, chemistry, and fertilizer for their operations to produce a great crop. “We also are always thinking about the sustainability of their operations while managing cash flow,” she added. “I also work with farmers to ensure we are growing an acceptable feed source for their animals, while keeping in contact with co-workers in the animal nutrition side of agriculture.”
Despite her current exposure within the ag industry—and we still haven’t discussed her role within the JFAO—when she was still in high school, she wasn’t convinced that she wanted a career within the ag industry.
“I went to the University of Guelph, but not for its agricultural program,” she related. “But I had a change of heart and transferred to the ag program, and thoroughly enjoyed my time within that setting.
“It led me to working abroad in New Zealand on a dairy operation for just under a year,” said Wyville, “and upon returning, I began working on the farm and with Huron Bay.
“I guess that change of career took, because I’ve become very much involved with agriculture over the past six years.”
Regarding the JFAO, she said she first became involved while in high school but put it aside upon graduation until she returned from abroad becoming reinvolved at the local level initially where she held the role of President for the past two years before also taking on the job of Treasurer.
But provincially with the JFAO, Wyville is also the Director of Communications as well as Fund Development Specialist—so with the dual roles locally and provincially, Wyville seems to have… six jobs!
Hands up if you feel like you are lazy now?
“My role as the Director of Communications is to ensure that all of our membership is connected and informed about what JFAO is doing and any opportunities that are available to them with the help from the JFAO Executive,” she explained. “As the Fund Development Specialist, it is my role to attain funding from various sources to help with the costs associated with running JFAO and to help the various event committees with sponsorship of their events.
“Within my local JFAO club I have held various roles over the years from President to Sing Swing Committee Chair to our Annual Hockey tournament Chair to Treasurer, to being Chair of Grey’s Ag Adventure this past summer,” she added. “I enjoy planning events that are fun and community-oriented and might even teach somebody a little bit about agriculture.”
Wyville said that her experiences with the JFAO have provided her with the confidence to speak up and develop skills as a leader and event planner. “I am unsure I would be the person I am today without those experiences,” she posited. “The JFAO provides a safe place to develop your skills as a person and the confidence to be open and try new things. It also is a great way to meet people across the province that I will be friends with for a long while.”
If you are wondering where the energetic Wyville finds the time to wear so many hats, she laughingly admitted that seasonal timing has played a large role. “I have been able to manage my role within JFAO and to maintain my responsibilities both on- and off-farm. It’s been kind of nice that the JFAO is busier in the Fall and Winter months when the family farm and my job aren’t quite as busy.”
Busy is one thing, but obviously Wyville has accepted so many responsibilities because she has a yen for the ag life.
Six jobs? But wait… there’s more. You knew there had to be. Who only has six jobs?
Wyville is also a member of the 4-H organization and the Ag Society—with defined roles within each.
“I grew up showing cattle and participating in the Lifeskills clubs with in the 4-H,” pointed out Wyville. “Now I am a 4-H lifeskills leader, and with the help of my fellow leaders we run two or three clubs a year in all aspects of "lifeskills". I personally like to focus on the ones where we grow things like the potato club we ran in 2020. I really enjoy being able to give the kids the experiences with 4-H because it is usually something anyone can do.”
Wyville also sits on the Grey County 4-H executive committee as a Director, but claims she only attends one meeting a month. “Nothing too exciting with that, but I do help plan the Regional Calf & Sheep Show held in Owen Sound, Ontario, the weekend after Labour Day. My role last year was record keeping and livestreaming the event.”
She said she has been part of the Rocklyn Ag Society since returning from New Zealand. The main event is the Rocklyn Fall Fair—now in its 154th year. “This event is definitely a team effort to organize this event each year, but it is always worth the effort to see all of the exhibits. I am currently the secretary of the Ag Society.”
Some people may think that Wyville must have been bored and is looking for an outlet for her energy—eight jobs, if you are counting—but she said it’s more about being part of the community. Besides, all of her adventures in ag life make her happy.
“I enjoy having the ability to watch something grow from start to finish to produce a food product that we, as a society, need to survive or enjoy,” she explained.
“One of the crops we grew on our farm is rye. I am aware that the rye we grow is making its way to a nearby distillery that produces the Walker Rye alcohol brand. I have no idea which bottle of rye my grain is in, but I know it is in one of them. It’s exciting to know that someone somewhere and sometime will be enjoying rye grown on our farm.
“As for my off-farm job at Huron Bay Cooperative, working with producers provides me with a pull—the excitement they have when their yields are better than last year or when we have solved an issue for them so that it’s one less thing they have to worry about—their success is, in turn, my success. That’s what I find rewarding.”
While she respects the concept of celebrating Agriculture Day, she fears that it’s only going to be celebrated by the rural community—and its overall message is something the urban consumer should be more than a little aware of.
It’s a message she hopes Canada’s upcoming Agriculture Day on February 22, 2022, can emphasize.
“Without agriculture there is no food,” she stated. “I am not sure people understand anymore just where their food actually comes from. Not everyone can have a garden to produce the food that they need to survive—there simply is just not enough space in the city for everyone to be self-sufficient.
“I want people to understand that the rural communities are integral to helping Canada enjoys its status as a global leader,” she continued. “Without agriculture, you don’t eat.
Feeling her rural pride, Wyville said that those involved in ag life do hold the upper hand when it comes to their urbanized cousins. “I believe that rural life is much more community-based when compared to the urban settings.
“Yes, we don’t live side by side to each other, but that is actually what brings us together as a community.”