A rewarding night for all at OYF Awards Banquet

 

Last night, listening to presentations from the six Outstanding Young Farmer finalists was truly an enlightening night for me and my husband who had the privilege of attending the annual Ontario Awards banquet at the Delta Hotel in Guelph.

Compelling stories of honest determination, true grit, community outreach, sorrow and loss were all revealed but what stood out most was the tremendous passion for agriculture as their livelihood and overall lifestyle.

 

Winner’s Dana and Adam Thatcher of Thatcher Farms in Rockwood took home the provincial trophy with Mark and Sandi Brock of Shepherd Creek Farms (crops and poultry) from Staffa took second place.

 

The Thatcher’s farm operation specializes in livestock and a butcher and bakery shop. The couple started out their farming venture in the pig industry but later transitioned to become a sheep farm in 2007. A year later they built a country store that features their own naturally raised meats, including lamb, beef, pork and chicken as well as summer sausage and Omega 3 eggs. They also harvest their own honey, feature local maple syrup and Dana’s home baked meat pies and fruit jams that keep customers coming back for more. 

 

Other nominees recognized last night were:

• Curtis and Heidi Fielding- Fielding Estates Winery in Beamsville
• Ian and Deb McGregor-McGregor’s Produce (farm market) in Braeside
• Collin and Tanya Walker-Walkhavern Farms (dairy and crops) in Stayner
• Chris and Brianne Brown-Beslea Farms (dairy) in Yarker

 

OYF couples (From L-R): Collin and Tanya Walker, Ian and Deb McGregor, Curtis and Heidi Fielding, Adam and Dana Thatcher (finalists), Mark and Sandi Brock (runners up) and Chris and Brianna Brown with sponsors representatives from Pioneer DuPont and Janice Johnson of GROWMARK, Inc.

To read more about the Outstanding Young Farmers program, you can visit the OYF website.

2013 4-H Ambassadors begin their reign

Having successfully passed through interviews by a panel of three judges, five new ambassadors were selected to represent 4-H Ontario across the province for the year.

This is the ninth year of the program sponsored by GROWMARK, Inc., and UPI Energy LP.

Ambassadors will work to promote 4-H in Ontario provincially, regionally, locally and at some national events. During their reign they will receive training in several areas, such as interview skills, public relations, communication, writing reports and press releases, public speaking, agricultural and 4-H awareness and etiquette. They will also be able to take advantage of the many networking opportunities and exposure to new experiences.

This ad will appear in Better Farming Magazine (April edition).

We encourage FS member co-operatives to invite an ambassador to your local functions to take part in your activities and speak to your audiences about the importance of supporting 4-H. Contact Janice Johnson, at the GROWMARK Ontario office at 519-895-4251 if you want to book an ambassador.

4-H Ontario's annual fund raiser golf tournaments will take place on June 20 at Victoria Park East Golf Club in Guelph, and on June 6 at Anderson Links Golf & Country Club in Ottawa. Golfers will be able to meet some of the Ambassadors that will be managing the FS Co-operative sponsored putting contest. If you would like to attend, please visit 4-H Ontario to register.  

Growing attention given to growing vegetables for FS Crop Specialists

Learning more about the latest on vegetable production was the focus at last week's GROWMARK Ontario System horticulture meeting held for FS crop specialists working with customers in this niche market.

The four main crop protection companies each took time to talk about their horticultural portfolio bringing staff up-to-date on the latest products and what insects and diseases to lookout for this spring.

FS Crop specialists attended from Ontario's prime vegetable grower regions such as the Leamington/Chatham area, Delhi/Hamilton region, Alliston, Dundalk and Lucknow.

FS joins the conversation “Agriculture More Than Ever”

Agriculture More Than Ever is a multi-year industry initiative to improve perceptions of agriculture in order to assist the industry to reach its full potential and ensure its long-term viability and GROWMARK has become one of its many new partners willing to share in the positive messaging.

Agriculture is one of Canada’s largest employers and a contributor of more than $130 billion dollars to our national economy. We can’t ignore challenges, but when we discuss agriculture, we can choose to focus on the optimism and positive side of the industry.

Agriculture More Than Ever asks those involved in the industry to champion agriculture by engaging in more frequent discussion regarding what’s going well within the industry – filling in information gaps, responding to misguided perceptions and telling the success stories about the industry, online and offline.

To view and share current positive stories about the industry, visit the Agriculture More Than Ever website. There is also a variety of promotional items available for purchase. You can also visit AMTE on Twitter and Facebook.