GUELPH/ERAMOSA – This August, two farming teams will be competing for the privilege of representing Ontario at a national event honouring outstanding young farmers, and the winner will be chosen right here in Wellington County.
“Guelph is the hub of agriculture, so it just kind of makes sense,” said Dana Thatcher, an alumnus of the Ontario Outstanding Young Farmer (OOYF) Program.
She and her husband Adam are donating their event space at Barn Swallow Fields farm, located on the 5th Line between Oustic and Brucedale, to host the celebration that will name the 2024 Outstanding Young Farmer for the province.
The event takes place Aug. 22, and there is a deadline of Aug. 6 to purchase tickets. The winner will get to attend the national event in Alberta in November.
“It is a very inspiration evening,” stated Alyson McKay, acting co-chair of the OOYF board, in a news release.
“Each nominee will present the details around their innovative business, as well as their community involvement. It is amazing to see what these young farmers have accomplished.
“Everyone leaves the event renewed, inspired and excited about the future of Ontario’s agriculture.”
Thatcher, who also sits on the OOYF board, explained the competition is open to participants aged 18 to 39 who make at least two thirds of their income from their farm operations.
First and foremost, to be eligible, farmers have to be nominated. Then they receive a package to fill out with details about their farming activities to be shared with the judges.
“They look at your financials and they look at your work within the community as well,” said Thatcher.
Farmers are judged on things like agricultural career progress, environmental stewardship, production history, and financial and management practices, she explained.
Judges will interview the candidates and each will have the chance to make a presentation during the celebration dinner. The winner won’t be chosen until that evening.
“Nobody knows other than the judges, and then they will hand an envelope to the emcee, and the emcee will announce it,” Thatcher said.
Past winners include a wide-range of different types of farmers, she added.
“It’s really well represented across all the different commodities,” she said.
This year, the two nominees are pairs of farmers.
The first pair, Matt Bergman and DJ Wassenaar, runs Haybury Farms Inc. in Jarvis, near Haggersville. They have expanded their cropping operation into Algoma and work more than 4,000 acres using some unconventional and innovative practices.
The second pair, Romy and Ryan Schill, co-owns Circle R Lambs, a livestock farm in the southwest corner of Mapleton Township.
They are known for their breeding stock and wool production, and their Revolution Wool Company products can be found in One and Only in downtown Fergus.
Thatcher said the process the nominees will have to go through for the competition is extensive, but worthwhile.
And she should know. She and her husband won in 2013. At that time, the first-generation farmers were running their own on-farm butcher shop, bakery and farm market.
Thatcher said they had opened the butcher shop as a way to sell directly to their customers and retain a greater share of the profits from the animals they raised. The strategy was an effective one.
Taking part in the OOYF competition was beneficial for multiple reasons, with Thatcher noting it was a good exercise in reflecting on their farming practices.
Winning also helped the Thatchers gain publicity for their farm.
“Publicity, for someone who’s trying to reach consumers, that’s gold,” she said.
But the greatest benefit was the connection to other farmers.
“The biggest prize in all of this is becoming alumni of the (Outstanding Young Farmers) family,” Thatcher said.
Winning the award helped the Thatchers make connections with other farm families from all over Canada, people who they could connect with for help and advice.
Thatcher said her teenage daughter plans to make a career of agriculture, and the network they have created through the Outstanding Young Farmers Program has opened potential doors.
“For our farm it was very life-changing,” she said.
For tickets to the event, visit eventbrite.com/e/ontarios-outstanding-young-farmer-celebration-tickets-922848343237?aff=oddtdtcreator before Aug. 6.
