By Maynard van der Galien
OFA Member
TORONTO — Four directors of the Renfrew County Federation of Agriculture were delegates at the 79th annual Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) annual convention held in Toronto Nov. 22-24. OFA is the largest farm organization in Ontario representing 37,000 farm families. The theme this year was “How to Talk Farming and Influence People”.
Rueben Stone, the president, David Campbell, John Van Genderen and Maynard van der Galien attended the annual November event. There were 270 delegates from across Ontario.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Ont. NDP and Patrick Brown, the new leader of the PC Party of Ont. were all scheduled to give a 20 -30 minute speech to delegates. Premier Wynne had to cancel as she had to attend a federal provincial meeting on climate change. Both Horwath and Brown talked about issues affecting farmers, including the controversial neonics and high hydro rates.
Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal gave a 20-minute positive speech but didn’t mention neonics and the controversy it has caused. He entertained a few questions before leaving. He came back for the Monday evening Ont. ‘Tailgate” Harvest Celebration Dinner –Celebrating Ontario’s Finest Foods, Wines and Beer.
Ron Bonnett, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, gave a 30-minute speech mostly about trade deals and says signing trade deals is only the first step, then making deals with brokers of the countries can be a challenge.
Jeff Fitzpatrick-Stilwell , Senior Manager of Sustainability, McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd, was the keynote speaker. He gave an hour long presentation and took questions from the floor. He talked about consumer food trends. He said when school kids are asked what they can do to improve the environment, they say: #1 Recycle, #2 Eat less meat, and they refer to beef.
Eighteen resolutions were presented and voted on. Two were defeated. Many of the resolutions pass with over 80% in favour.
The Dundas resolution on IPM Monetary Support has a lot of discussion. Delegates want OFA to be visible and support the International Plowing Match (IPM) again after a three-year absence. The vote is 80 % in favour of being at the IPM.
The electronic voting remotes, which was introduced two years ago, was a real time saver as voting took just seconds.
Don McCabe, a southwestern Ont. cash crop farmer was acclaimed as president and will now be serving his second one-year term. OFA vice-presidents, Keith Currie of Collingwood and northern Ontario dairy farmer Peggy Brekveld were also acclaimed.
Ten thousand dollars was raised at the convention, which will go towards a bursary for young people in 2016, when the organization celebrates their 80th anniversary.
