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Keith Currie. (OFA photo)
Crops

Former OFA president to lead CFA

Keith Currie acclaimed to replace Mary Robinson

By
A former president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is taking the helm of Canada’s largest general farmers’ organization. Keith Currie of Collingwood, Ont. was acclaimed as the new president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture this week during the CFA’s annual general meeting in Ottawa. As CFA president, Currie replaces Mary Robinson of Albany, […] Read more
Peggy Brekveld elected to third term as OFA president
Business

Peggy Brekveld elected to third term as OFA president

By
Peggy Brekveld has been elected as President of the province’s largest farm organization to a third one-year term . Brekveld, a Thunder Bay-area dairy farmer, was re-elected at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) annual meeting, held in London, Ont. earlier this week. Joining Brekveld on the OFA executive are Vice Presidents Drew Spoelstra and […] Read more
Lisa Thompson. (Lisathompsonmpp.ca video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario names new ag minister in shuffle

Lisa Thompson replaces Ernie Hardeman

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford has drawn another aggie from his existing cabinet to replace Ernie Hardeman as his agriculture minister. Ford on Friday announced a major cabinet shuffle, dropping Hardeman, the long-time MPP for Oxford, from the cabinet table and naming Lisa Thompson as minister for agriculture, food and rural affairs. Thompson, who until Friday […] Read more
mechanic high clearance
News

Agriculture education evolves to fit modern needs

Colleges are offering shorter courses in regional settings to help fill the need for practical skills

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Colleges are offering shorter courses in regional settings to help fill the need for practical skills

Post-secondary agriculture education in Ontario is diversifying to meet the labour and skill needs of the industry. Shorter, concentrated offerings are expected to help fill the need for more employees in agriculture. Why it matters: Agriculture education options for practical training have been limited, especially in the regions where potential farm workers live. Much has […] Read more
Only three per cent of farmers who responded to an OMAFRA survey agreed to have their farm business information released.
News

OMAFRA releasing names of farm businesses

The ministry will, however, withhold farm business registration numbers in response to a freedom of information request

By
Updated Aug. 11 The provincial government will release the name of all registered farm businesses in response to a Freedom of Information request. The ministry will not be releasing the actual farm business registration numbers. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) said in a statement that “After consulting with a sample […] Read more
Ontario farmers have expressed concern about their farm business registration information being shared.
News

OFA urges farm data requester be named

A Freedom of Information Act request targets anyone with a Farm Business Registration number

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Members of the three General Farm Organizations in Ontario have been encouraged to tell the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to turn down a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request aimed at Ontario’s farmers. The request looks for names of individuals and businesses holding Farm Business Registration (FBR) numbers, a well […] Read more
A colourized low-temperature electron micrograph of a cluster of E. coli bacteria. Individual bacteria in this photo are oblong and colored brown. (Eric Erbe photo and colourization by Christopher Pooley courtesy ARS/USDA)
Livestock, Markets

Ryding-Regency’s federal beef packing licenses cancelled

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Citing “false or misleading information” given them during an E. coli probe, food safety officials have now permanently pulled the federal slaughter, processing and export licenses for Toronto’s Ryding-Regency Meat Packers and related companies. The cancellation, announced Monday, indefinitely prolongs what was already described as “critical processing capacity shortage” for the province’s cattle producers, leaving […] Read more
Dave Stewart (l) and Neil Currie retired this summer from the helms of BFO and OFA respectively.
News

An experienced look at farm organization futures

Retiring farm leaders on what Ontario agriculture needs to thrive

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After years acting as organizational leaders in Ontario’s farm sector, Dave Stewart of Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), and Neil Currie, who was for 19 years general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), see great potential for the farm and food sector. However, both believe co-operation and ongoing efforts to foster new leadership […] Read more
cathy lennon
News

Lennon to be new OFA general manager

She has worked across the agriculture sector for farmer organizations

By
Cathy Lennon will be the new general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), replacing Neil Currie, who retires at the end of August. Lennon comes to the OFA from the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, after a long career with agriculture organizations. Why it matters: Neil Currie has with the OFA for 19 years, […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast