OFA Commentary: July 18, 2019
By Rejean Pommainville, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

County and regional federation of agriculture meetings are being scheduled for late summer and early fall. These local meetings ‘kick off’ the Ontario farm meeting season in the lead up to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) annual general meeting in November.
With 52 county and regional federations and 38,000 members, OFA is the largest general farm organization in Canada. We’re also the leading provincial advocate for farm families and our rural communities.
Here are three reasons why it’s important for OFA members to attend their local federation annual meeting.

1. Learn more about your local federation. Every county or region in Ontario faces their own set of unique opportunities and challenges in farming and our rural communities. Attending your local annual meeting offers every member a chance to understand how your local federation and OFA is supporting and advocating for farm businesses in your area. And it’s a great chance to meet fellow members and local federation leaders.
   
   
   
2. Vote for local leadership and representation. Elections for OFA convention delegates and Policy Advisory Council (PAC) members will happen at each regional annual meeting. These are opportunities for members to get involved in OFA’s work at a provincial level, represent your area of the province and bring concerns or suggestions to provincial discussions.
   
   
   
3. Get involved. Attending your federation annual meeting is your chance to speak to issues of concern and send a resolution to the OFA’s annual general meeting to request OFA’s support and action.

OFA supports our members and addresses a variety of regional, provincial and national issues that impact the business of farming and rural communities. OFA’s top priorities for 2019 include access to affordable energy in the form of natural gas, reliable high-speed internet for rural and northern Ontario communities, a stable rural school network, better rural infrastructure for roads and bridges, nutrient loss in provincial waterways and the Great Lakes, and reducing red tape for everyone in our agri-food sector.
Get involved in your local federation of agriculture to support your community and fellow farmers. I encourage all OFA members to attend their local annual meeting. Visit ofa.on.ca for a full schedule of 2019 regional meetings.
-30-
For more information, contact:



Rejean Pommainville
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
613-793-2849

​GUELPH, ON [July 2, 2019] – The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is excited to announce that Cathy Lennon has been hired as its new general manager. Cathy will take over the reins as general manager of OFA, following the retirement of Neil Currie on August 30, 2019. A long-time agricultural leader and advocate for the sector, Lennon brings more than 20 years of experience to lead Ontario’s largest general farm organization.
A Perth County native, Cathy’s agricultural career began with the Agricultural Adaptation Council. She served as general manager of Ontario Sheep Farmers, leading the organization through upheaval and trade disputes related to the BSE crisis. She was a program manager with Agricorp, and senior lender with Farm Credit Canada working across all agricultural sectors and commodities. Most recently, Cathy was general manager of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers.
“It’s an exciting new era for OFA as we welcome Cathy into the organization,” says Keith Currie, OFA president. “Agriculture has big opportunities and no end of challenges, and Cathy’s experience in so many facets of the agricultural sector will be a tremendous asset for the entire OFA organization.”
Cathy graduated from the University of Waterloo with a BA in political science, and is a Class 9 Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) grad. Over the last two decades, her professional career has centred around working for farmers to make a positive difference in their lives and their farm businesses. Cathy and her daughter live in Rockwood, Ontario.
“OFA is grateful to the long-term leadership of retiring general manager Neil Currie,” says Currie. “He had led our organization through 19 years with significant changes and challenges, and he leaves OFA with a strong team in place for Cathy to step into.”
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 38,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
For more information:
Keith Currie
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
keith.currie@ofa.on.ca