WellFA_eNews2017

WFA News
The Wellington Federation of Agriculture’s
Annual meeting will be held on
Friday, October 27, 2017
6:30—Social 7:00—Banquet
Fergus Legion Branch 275
500 Blair Street, Fergus
(just off St. Andrews W.)
Tickets: $15 each
($10 students)
Fall 2017
Dinner, Movie and a Meeting
A WFA Date Night!
WFA Annual Meeting & Banquet
Friday October 27, 2017
A roast beef buffet catered by Helen
McFadzean, plus a movie, and a little
federation business for just $15!
Another great evening is in the works.
Don’t wait. Call and order tickets now!
An abridged version of Food Evolution is
the entertainment for the evening. Food
Evolution is a recent documentary that puts
food under the microscope and teases out
the fact from the folklore that forms public
perception of our most intimate
commodity, food. Food Evolution may
prove to be an important catalyst to bring
common sense into our discussions about
food.
“A polished and provocative call for
activists to be as scientifically minded
as they believe they are.”
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter, 2017
“It’s a compelling argument, in a film
that may well change a few minds—or
at least inspire some heartfelt postscreening
arguing.”
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times, 2017
Of course this is the WFA Annual
Meeting so there will be the usual bit of
necessary business required to keep the
WFA in good shape.
Wellington Federation
of Agriculture
Every Year
Wellington Farmers
Produce more
than $ 700 M in
farm gate receipts
Provide 58,000
weeks of work to
the local labour
market
Are stewards of
nearly 495,000
acres
Deliver over
$ 190 M of
ecological goods
and services for
free!
Represent 9% of
the dairy farms in
the province
Provide a home
for 5.7 M chickens
Your OFA Regional
Meeting is held in
conjunction with this
meeting, so there is the
opportunity to determine
your 2017 OFA convention
delegates and 2017-2018
Policy Advisory Councillors
conveniently in a single
meeting. A little bit of
business for the good of
agriculture in Wellington.
Inside this issue:
Baptie Bursary 2
High Speed Rail 3
Banquet Tickets 4

Page 2
WFA News
Ray Baptie Memorial Bursary Winners
The Wellington Federation of Agriculture is proud to award 4 Wellington County Agricultural students
with $1000 Scholarships for the 2016/2017 year. WFA is a proud supporter of tomorrow’s leaders, and
looks forward to the contributions that these outstanding students will provide in the years to come.
Winners of this year’s Ray Baptie award are: Mikayla Clark of Arthur, Luke Hannam of Guelph/
Eramosa township, Nicole Langdon of Arthur, and Quinn Wilson of Harriston.
Mikayla Clark
Luke Hannam
Nicole Langdon
Mikayla Clark
Mikayla is Studying Equine Science Breeding
and Production at Olds College in Alberta.
Working at Major Dairy A.I. Services doing
reproductive management at local dairy barns,
opened a whole new world for Mikayla.
Reproductive management became a passion,
and she decided to combine that with her love
of horses and pursue this as a career goal.
Describing herself as an ‘Equine Midwife’
Mikayla is clearly focused on her ultimate career
goal of owning her own business. WFA’s review
committee described her as ‘hard core and
focused.
A community leader, she has numerous awards
to her credit, including 2015-2016 Arthur Fall
Fair Ambassador and 2016 Congenial Award at
the CNE Ambassador of the Fairs competition.
She has volunteered with the annual John Deere
show in Grand Valley and is a leader in church
VBS programs.
Work experience includes positions at Major
Dairy A.I. Services, Dajo Dairy, and project
assistant for the Ontario Plowmen’s Association.
Luke Hannam
Luke is pursuing a degree in Agricultural
Science at the University of Guelph.
Luke is a seventh generation Canadian farmer
and intends to carry on the family tradition in
Guelph/Eramosa Township. He grew up on a
cash crop farm and sought other opportunities to
learn about different kinds of farming by
working and visiting other local operations.
Luke has come to understand the work and
effort required to be a full time farmer and
active member of an agricultural community.
He credits the 4-H program and his family for
teaching him the importance of community in
agriculture. He states that the old saying “it takes
a village to raise a child” is more than applicable
to agriculture. The collaboration of every branch
of agriculture, from the man raising a dozen
chickens in his backyard to the multi-billion dollar
corporation, is inspiring to Luke. It excites him to
know that he may one day be a part of this
complex and interwoven, yet very simplistic,
community.
Luke has experience working on the family cash
crop farm, and for a landscape company, and
helping neighbours with chores. His list of awards
include: Athlete of the year, Saint James Lion
Pride Award, and the Andy Benham Heart of the
Lion Award—just to name a few.
Nicole Langdon
Nicole is enrolled in the degree program at the
University of Guelph studying Agricultural
Science.
Hailing from a dairy and cash crop farm, her
passion for agriculture runs deep and is continuing
to grow. Previous internships at Cargill
AgHorizons have sparked a keen interest in Nicole
around the crop inputs and protection area. To
observe production and to connect with farmers,
and to promote innovative methods to alleviate
potential effects on the environment, would be
Nicole’s ideal job.
Her past employment has been with Langdon
Farms Inc, Tim Hortons, and with Cargill
AgHorizons. An avid volunteer, Nicole has
volunteered at FarmSmart Conference. She is
involved with University of Guelph Intramural
hockey, dodgeball and flag football, and the
University of Guelph Weeds Team Horticulture
Club.
Quinn Wilson
Quinn is completing a Co-op Bachelor of
Commerce degree in Food and Agriculture at the
University of Guelph.
Growing up with an agricultural background, she
has become
continued on page 3 >
Applications for the 2017-2018 scholarship are currently being accepted. Please contact Lisa at
wellington@ofa.on.ca or 519-848-3774 for an application and the criteria, and submit prior to the
October 31 deadline.

Page 3
High Speed Trains are Not for Agriculture
Fall 2017
By Mark Reusser
As a general rule there is merit for federations to
support public transportation that encourages
intensification and thus protects agricultural land
from urbanization.
Unfortunately, the Province's proposal for high
speed rail running from Toronto to London will
have long term negative effects on agriculture not
only for those farmers directly in the corridor, but
also those who farm land on both sides of it or
who have to cross it to do business.
This is not a traditional train track. It will be
secured on both sides with steel fence that will be
impenetrable by wildlife, farm equipment or
humans. The only place to cross the corridor
will be at separated crossings either above or
below grade. Because of the high cost of these
crossings, they will potentially be 15 or more
kilometres apart. All side roads that are not
deemed necessary for grade separation will be
closed.
It is estimated that each kilometre of
corridor will use up to 10 acres
of land, most of that being
prime farmland.
Municipalities would be divided by dead end
roads affecting schools, postal services, snow
removal and road maintenance. Emergency
vehicle response times for ambulance, police and
fire services would increase.
All this for about 100 billon dollars.
A far more affordable and less intrusive
alternative to high speed rail would be to utilize
the existing track more intensively and
effectively.
In the late 1800s one could board the train,
powered by a steam engine, in Kitchener and be
in Toronto in less time than it takes to get to
Georgetown today. A technologically advanced
train using state of the art tracks and signaling
should shorten the travel time between Kitchener
and Toronto to less than
what it was
130years
ago.
Imagine
a new train
getting you to
Toronto in about
an hour all without
negative consequences
to agriculture, the rural
community and your pocketbook.
Farmers support high quality
transportation infrastructure. We
require it to run our businesses and to
sell our products.
High speed rail will not help agriculture. It will
increase taxes, increase our cost of production
and destroy prime farmland.
Mark Reusser
OFA VP
Baptie Memorial Bursary Winners continued from page 2
passionate about the industry. Studying at the
University has widened her eyes to the many
opportunities in agriculture, as she has been able
to explore the various sectors. Quinn is
interested in all of it-- so she is not closing any
doors while she continues her education and
personal growth.
She has worked at Tim Hortons and been a
student dietary aide at Caressent Care and a
Research assistant at C&M seeds. The recipient
of many other awards, she has received a
Monsanto Opportunity Fund Scholarship, Grand
River Agricultural Society Scholarship, Parents
for French Award, North Wellington Co-op
Scholarship and Harriston-Minto Agricultural
Society Scholarship.
She has been very involved in her community,
being a former Harriston-Minto Ambassador of
the Fair, attending Ontario Secondary School
leadership conference, and much more. She
loves sports and is involved with broomball,
figure skating and hockey.
Quinn Wilson

WFA Annual Meeting Reminder-
Friday, October 27, 2017
6:30—Social
7:00—Banquet
Fergus Legion
500 Blair Street
(Just off St. Andrews W.)
Tickets $15 each ($10 students)
Call 519-848-3774 or email
wellington@ofa.on.ca
to reserve your seat, now!
Think about being a WFA director
The WFA meets the first week of the month in the OMAFRA boardroom in Elora. All
meetings are open to members. If you might be interested in becoming a director, please
feel free to try a meeting or two. The WFA strives to have directors that represent a good
cross-section of the members by location, commodity, gender and experience. A small per
diem and mileage is provided to directors to help with the cost of attending meetings.
Contact the WFA at 519-848-3774 or Gord Grant, Member Service Representative, OFA at
877-343-5444 or gord.grant@ofa.on.ca.
Wellington Federation
of Agriculture
Wellington Federation of
Agriculture
Lisa Hern
Secretary-Treasurer
RR 2, Kenilworth, ON
N0G 2E0
519-848-3774
Fax: 519-848-2669
wellington@ofa.on.ca
@WellFedAg
www.wfofa.on.ca
Local MPPs—Always an Open Door
The WFA is fortunate to
have two local MPPs that
are committed to the
constituents of their ridings
and that see farming as the
economic engine of rural
Ontario.
Too many county federations have to “back
the bus up” for their MPPs spending an
inordinate amount of time on Farming 101.
Ted Arnott, (MPP Wellington-Halton Hills)
and Randy Pettapiece, (MPP Perth-
Wellington) are ahead of the pack in
understanding the issues that impact
agriculture and then advocating for farmers
at Queen’s Park. Both MPPs readily reach
out to WFA for advice and feedback.
Meeting with MPP
Randy Pettapiece,
June 26, 2017.
(L to R: Janet
Harrop, Randy
Pettapiece, Steve
Logel, Gary Nelson,
Gord Flewwelling,
Lisa Hern)
Meeting with MPP Ted Arnott, March 24, 2017.
(L to R: Ted Arnott, Gord Grant, Janet Harrop,
Lisa Hern, John Sealey)
This year the following concerns were
brought forward in meetings with MPPs:
• Rural schools
• Municipal infrastructure funding
• Farmland preservation
• Impacts of flooding
• Hydro rates
62 Cents
OFA and the other two
accredited farm organizations
are proposing a fee increase. If
accepted by the province then
the new fee in 2018 will be
$225, equivalent to 62 cents per
day.
Your 62¢ will fund the activities
of WFA locally. Your 62¢ will
continue to support the activities
of CFA on the federal stage.
Your 62¢ keeps OFA directors
on the road lobbying hard on
your behalf across the province.
Support OFA in this effort with
a positive email sent to
ontariocanada.com/registry
62¢ - too little or too much?
Either way, have your say.