By Sara Wood, Vice President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Early September often feels as much like a new beginning as early January does. It’s when most summer activities end, and kids go back to school. For the farming community, it means harvest time kicks into high gear – but it also unofficially marks the beginning of our sector’s annual meeting and event season.
This week, for example, will see one of the biggest agricultural events of the year, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock. I farm with my family near Mitchell, Ontario and I’m also a Vice President with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture so I’ll be working at the show this week at what we call Federation House – the OFA building on the show grounds.
For me as a farmer, the show lets me see the latest agricultural innovations, tools, equipment and technology, and chat with a wide range of people. Life can be isolating on the farm sometimes, so it’s a great opportunity to get out, visit with neighbours and farming friends and reconnect with others in the agricultural community.
From an OFA perspective, the show lets us have informal, one on one conversations with members who come and see us so we can learn more about the challenges and successes they are having, and what they’re looking forward to in the coming year.
We’re an advocacy organization for Ontario farmers and rural communities, after all, so these types of opportunities are invaluable to make sure we can represent the needs and interests of our members to the best of our abilities.
We’re encouraging our members, for example, to have conversations with their local municipal representatives about responsible land use planning. But we’re also putting a particular focus on harvest readiness. This means highlighting farm and road safety, but also mental health and wellness and how self-care is as importance as looking after your crops, livestock and equipment.
We also have a focus on young farmers this year and in partnership with the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario, the presidents of our two organizations are hosting an informal networking event on the first night of the show. The goal is to bring young farmers together, encourage them engage with our organizations and give us input on how we can best encourage their involvement in the future of Ontario agriculture.
We’re sharing our space in Federation House with other organizations and businesses, including many of our OFA Benefit Program partners, such as Farm Life, Scotiabank, Co-operators, Better Farming, Peavey Mart and Hearing Life. These are businesses who offer succession planning, financial, insurance, media, retail and health care services to our members at discounted rates – and the show offers the opportunity to learn more about what is available to OFA members.
It’s a year of big anniversaries for a couple of our partners. The Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program is marking its 40th anniversary and as a founding member of the program, we’re proud to be the premier sponsor of their celebration at the farm show this year.
We see the results of this program’s impact reflected throughout the agriculture and food sector. I’m a graduate as are other OFA board members and staff, and many alumni are making significant contributions across our membership, and throughout the entire value chain.
Better Farming is celebrating their 25th anniversary at this show, as well as 25 years as an OFA member benefit program partner.
Autumn also means its fall fair time across Ontario and many of our farmer members and our county and regional federations will be participating in fairs in their communities. They’re a great opportunity for Ontarians to come and experience a glimpse of farming and rural life.
When I was growing up, I used to show cattle at fall fairs, and it was always great to see kids who had never seen a calf or a cow before coming up and asking if they could pet the animals. It only takes a little bit of time to have that conversation with them, but the impression that leaves will last a lifetime.
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