On Sept. 21, another outstanding contributor to local agriculture will be honoured in the Wellington County Agricultural Hall of Fame located at the Wellington County Museum and Archives.
Dr. Gordon Surgeoner, of Fergus, was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame June 8 in Milton.
Surgeoner is being recognized for his extensive and ongoing contributions to Ontario’s agri-food sector. He began to make his mark as a medical entomologist at the University of Guelph from 1976 to 2005, researching insect-borne disease control. He supervised 15 post-graduate students and was awarded the coveted Teaching Award from the Ontario Agriculture College in 1989.
He was the chair of the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition from 1990-98 which developed the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan and now has over 30,000 farms province-wide operating under farm-specific environmental audits. This plan became a key part of the national Agricultural Framework Agreement of 2003.
Surgeoner began to champion new technologies to improve the health, environment, and growth of new business opportunities in the farming sector. In 1997, he was seconded to the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology in order to develop a strategic plan for biotechnology in both medicine and agriculture. This plan continues as the basis of regulations, applications and promotion of biotechnology in Ontario. At the same time, Gord was also an influential member within the Canadian General Standards Board to develop a Canadian standard for labeling foods derived or not derived from bio-engineering.
From 1990-2000, Surgeoner served as a policy advisor for AgCare, whose initiatives led to mandatory certification for the use of farm pesticides in Ontario. He and AgCare also played critical roles in Ontario’s Food Systems 2000 program which decreased pesticide use in Ontario by 50 per cent over 15 years.
He was also central in the creation of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies in 1998, an independent organization developed by agricultural groups, agri-food companies, universities and government ministries to provide leadership on the development and use of advanced technology for agriculture and food production in Ontario.
He was the founding chair and then became the president, a role he is still in today. OAFT has become one of the province’s most important organizations for the advancement of new bio-based science technologies.
Surgeoner helped Biox use a new technology to convert used cooking oil and waste fat into biodiesel. Thanks to Gord’s persistence, Ontario’s fuel tax laws were changed to give biodiesel the same tax consideration as other renewable fuels. Now a Biox plant in Hamilton produces 60 million litres of biodiesel annually.
Surgeoner has also served on a number of biotechnology boards including the Biotech Council of Ontario, the Ontario Bio Auto Council, the Bio Industrial Innovation Centre in Sarnia, the R&D Challenge Fund, the Biotech Human Resource Council and Sentinel Bioactive Paper.
He has received numerous awards including the award for contribution to advancing the benefits of biotech for Canadians in 2002, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee award in 2002, the Order of Ontario in 2005, the University of Guelph alumnus of honour award in 2007, the Life Sciences Ontario community service award in 2011 and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee award in 2002 and Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee award in 2012.
Surgeoner is a unique contributor to Ontario Agriculture and Food and is a most deserving recipient of the Ontario Hall of Fame award.
