By Brian Crews, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

The strength and success of an organization is driven and defined by its leadership. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), which represents about 88% of Ontario’s farmers through its membership, has always been proud of being farmer-led and farmer-driven.

Our organization is led by an 18-member board of directors – farmers who are democratically elected by their peers at the grass roots level to represent their interests at the provincial board table.

I’m one of those directors, having first joined the OFA board two years ago when I decided to let my name stand for a board position. I’m a dairy farmer just north of Trenton and represent farmers from Hastings, Lennox & Addington, Northumberland and Prince Edward counties on the OFA board.

The OFA has a rolling governance structure for zone director positions and every year in June, five of those positions come up for election. This means we are always looking to attract interested candidates to step forward and consider joining our board for a three-year term – whether from our local and regional federations or from our general membership.

Our bottom-up, grassroots structure means all OFA members can vote, either electronically or by mail, for the director that represents their zone. As well, voting delegates at our annual general meeting in November elect our three at-large director positions.

The nomination period is currently open, and OFA is actively recruiting new leaders and interested candidates from among our more than 38,000 members who are willing to let their name stand for our provincial board.

Being a provincial director is a great way to help shape the future of farming in Ontario. The board plays an important role in pushing for strong farm policies and better support for the agri-food sector through government and media relations, advocacy and public outreach.

The job means speaking up for farmers, working with government and industry leaders on key issues facing the sector, and connecting with local members to talk about what matters most in agriculture.

Directors also help guide OFA’s long-term planning and work with a passionate team of fellow board members and staff to credibly influence meaningful change for agriculture and rural communities.

I first joined the OFA board in 2023, after having spent several years being actively involved with my local federation board in Northumberland County. I really enjoyed working for and with fellow farmers, but I also started learning a lot about our very complex agriculture sector and how many of the factors that influence the growth and success of farm businesses are actually beyond the control of individual farmers.

That’s where advocacy plays such an important role and I realized that to help make a difference for farmers in my region as well as across Ontario, I needed to step up and become involved with this organization at the provincial level.

I’m now two years into my three-year term and it’s been an incredible experience. I won’t lie – this role can be a lot of work but there’s also some flexibility for each director to choose a level of involvement that works for them.

For me, it’s been rewarding as well as a tremendous learning experience to start to understand not just the many different sectors of agriculture but also the depth and breadth of activities OFA is involved in on behalf of members.

This year, nominations and elections will take place for Bruce/Grey (Zone 2), Brant/Haldimand/Norfolk (Zone 3), Halton/Hamilton-Wentworth/Niagara (Zone 5), Lambton/Middlesex (zone 6) and Durham/Peterborough/Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton (Zone 10). Nominations will be accepted until June 27 and elections will run from August 18 to September 12. More information is available at: ofa.on.ca/zone-director-nominations

For anyone considering putting their name forward, I have one simple piece of advice: just do it. Even if you don’t end up being a successful candidate, there are many other ways to become involved with the OFA and help make a difference for one of the most important sectors of the Ontario economy.

 

For more information, contact:

Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-994-2578
comms@ofa.on.ca