The Dundas Federation of Agriculture is hosting this year's annual general meeting on Friday March 4, 2022 at 10:00am. The meeting will be hosted by Glen Haven Farms on 13805 County Road 13 in Morewood, Ontario. 

This year's speakers include Brian and Jenny Rijke of Rijke Produce Farms, the winners of South Dundas Municipality's New Business Award, and Peggy Brekveld, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Coffee and snacks will be provided in the morning, and a pizza lunch will be provided following the meeting business and presentations.  Lunch will be followed by a robot farm tour on Glen Haven Farms.

The DFA would like to thank Tom & Janet MacGregor for hosting the meeting this year on their farm.

If you are interested in attending, kindly RSVP for the pizza lunch with Erin Chambers at 613-662-8975 or erin.chambers.1994@gmail.com.

By Sara Wood, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Today marks Canada’s Agriculture Day – an annual event that brings both consumers and farmers together to celebrate the local food we all love to enjoy and the hardworking contributors across the food value chain that nurture it from field-to-fork.

In Ontario, we are privileged to have access to a bounty of fresh, nutritious, affordable foods produced right here on our own farmland and available all year round. Over 200 diverse food products are grown, produced and raised by farmers in Ontario. As an economic powerhouse, the agri-food sector in our province contributes more than $47 billion annually to the economy and employs over 860,400 Ontarians.

Even in the heart of winter, local food surrounds us and can be found at the grocery store, farmers’ market or purchased directly from the farm. Ontario tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and strawberries are accessible throughout the year, thanks to a strong and innovative greenhouse industry. Our emerging controlled-climate vertical farming sector provides Ontarians with leafy greens, microgreens and baby greens as well.

Ontario dairy products are always readily no matter what season we’re in as dairy cows continue producing high-quality milk that is processed into butter, cheese, cream, yogurt and ice cream. Keep an eye out for the blue cow logo that promises the items in your cart are made with 100% Canadian milk.

Additionally, the meat and poultry sector steadily produces and processes farm fresh products. Ontarians can purchase and enjoy fresh meat and poultry by visiting their local butcher shop, grocery store or directly from farmers in their community.

Ontario-grown vegetables can be found in the freezer aisle and were flash-frozen at peak freshness, preserving all the nutrients. They are an affordable and healthy way to enjoy Ontario produce in the colder temperatures.

If your taste desires, remember to pair your meal with local beer, cider, wine and spirits. Ontario craft brewers source local hops and grains, cideries frequent Ontario orchards and the VQA medallion ensures that your wine is made entirely from Ontario grapes.

Although today is certainly cause for celebration, it also provides us with a stark reminder. Ontario continues to lose an average of 175 acres of productive farmland to urban development every day. With Ontario’s average farm size being 249 acres, this equates to a loss of 5 family farms per week.

To add context, in one year, 175 acres can produce 58,000 packages of bacon, 1.3 million servings of nachos, 532,400 turkey dinners, 1.1 million quarter pounders, 273,000 chicken wings, or enough eggs to make 2.9 million omelettes.

Without serious intervention to preserve farmland, the Canadian foods we all love to enjoy could potentially disappear forever. Farmers are tirelessly dedicated and proud to provide food for the province, country and world, but we simply cannot grow food without arable land.

We all have a role to play in preserving farmland and that contribution is making the conscious choice to source local. Buying local is good for the economy, better for the environment, supports our domestic food supply chain, contributes to farm businesses and rural communities and encourages the preservation of farmland for future generations.

Closer to home, sourcing local is a fundamental part of a healthy diet for you and your family. Local food not only tastes better, but it is superior in quality, nutrition and freshness.

The benefits of sourcing local are abundant. But, from my experience, the most significant impact is the human connection that’s established. When you source local you start a relationship and connection with that local farmer and their family.

Through conversation, Ontarians can learn the love, care and dedication that farmers put into raising the crops and livestock that nourish our family and yours. Through connecting with our customers, we are re-connecting them with the agri-food supply chain.

Re-establishing that connection is the goal of OFA’s new pilot project alongside Farm & Food Care Ontario – Source Local. I’m a poultry farmer, but I’m also a director, mother, wife, friend and athlete. I share the values of family, quality, taste, community and health with Ontario consumers.

Today and every day, let’s raise a fork to the food we love, the people who produce it and the consumers who purchase it.
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For more information, contact:
Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883 ext. 218
tyler.brooks@ofa.on.ca

By Cathy Lennon, General Manager, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

With Farm Business Registration (FBR) season in full swing, farmers across Ontario are faced with the important decision of where to allocate their hard-earned membership dollars. When selecting your general farm organization, we recognize the needs of your business, your community and the future of the industry should be taken into consideration. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is committed to being an industry leader for our 38,000 farm business members and their rural communities through relationship building, advocacy and influence.

OFA is committed to being a strong leader in bringing the issues and policies affecting the agri-food sector and our rural communities to the attention of government and industry stakeholders. We also recognize the importance of collaboration when bringing issues and priorities to the table. Recently, we have worked collectively on issues such as mental health, land use planning, labour, environmental sustainability, rural infrastructure, energy and food security.

Consistently working with federal, provincial and municipal policymakers, industry stakeholders, commodity organizations and associations with a vested interest in the industry has been vital in keeping the agri-food sector strong and resilient. These relationships have allowed us to work collectively to amplify our industry’s voices and work together to ensure the next generation of farmers has a profitable and prosperous future.

Through our advocacy efforts and policy discussions, we have been able to develop and maintain strong relationships with decision-makers at all three levels of government. The value of these conversations can be measured by the significant investments the industry has received over the last two years. The farming community has benefited from many funding announcements related to broadband infrastructure and natural gas expansion across rural, remote and northern Ontario. We’ve seen wins for the industry with investments in the meat and poultry processing sector, emergency drought relief and mental health with the launch of the Farmer Wellness Initiative, which is funded by the provincial and federal governments.

Collectively, OFA’s executive, board members and staff are involved in more than 70 committees, boards, councils and working groups to improve the sustainability and profitability of our sector by helping to shape policy and regulations. These opportunities allow us to bring key messages to the forefront to ensure the viability and sustainability of the agri-food sector and Ontario’s food value chain.

We’re helping to tackle chronic labour issues by partnering with AgCareers.com and the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus Business Development Centre (BDC) through the Feeding Your Future initiative. This program is providing farmers with access to tools and resources to help find, train and retain agricultural workers.

To address rising concerns surrounding farmland preservation and domestic food production as a result of urban sprawl, OFA created the Home Grown campaign at homegrown.ofa.on.ca. As a consumer awareness initiative, it has been an opportunity to connect and educate Ontarians about the critical need to protect our natural resources for the sake of preserving Ontario’s supply chain. The message is resonating with the public audience – as a result we’ve received more than 20,000 signatures on OFA-led petition urging the government to take action to protect farmland.

Additionally, we’ve collaborated with Farm & Food Care Ontario to launch Source Local, a pilot project aimed at connecting over shared values to inspire public support for food, farms and farmers across Ontario.

We acknowledge our work on behalf of agriculture and rural communities wouldn’t be possible without the important contributions and support of our membership, including the 51 county and regional federations across the province. We sincerely appreciate the trust and loyalty of our members that instill confidence in us year after year by choosing OFA as their farm organization. Your constant input and feedback on issues, activities and policies is vital to the strength and influence of our grassroots organization. Through this support, we are putting your concerns into action and work to ensure farms and rural communities have the tools and resources necessary to be successful.

We look forward to working together to grow the agri-food industry and achieve our priorities. To renew your farm business registration online, visit www.agricorp.com.
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For more information, contact:
Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883 ext. 218
tyler.brooks@ofa.on.ca

The Dundas Federation of Agriculture would like to congratulate Dave Pemberton for being presented with the Eric Casselman Award as Farmer of the Year at DSCIA's 2021 Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting was held December 9th.

Dave Pemberton is the owner of Pemcrest Farms situated just north of Elma, and he was recognized for the long and successful history of the farm in dairy and crop production. He was also acknowledged for his many years of service and contributions not only to local ag groups, but to a number of local groups within Dundas. We appreciate all that Dave does to help better the community and wish him continued success.

Below is the full write-up on Dave Pemberton published in DSCIA's 2021 Annual Report.