By Greg Dietrich, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Healthcare is a top-of-mind issue for many Ontarians, especially at times when we’re in need of medical care. Lack of services, long wait times or the family doctor shortage often make headlines in all parts of the province, but these challenges can be especially acute in rural Ontario.

I live in one of these rural Ontario communities – I manage a dairy and calf-raising farm business with my family near the town of Mildmay in southern Bruce County. I’m also a director on the provincial board of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), where I represent farmers in Bruce and Grey Counties.

The OFA is first and foremost and advocacy organization; one of our main responsibilities is to represent our members and make sure farmers’ needs and concerns are brought to the attention of decision-makers. One of the key pillars of our advocacy work has been encouraging government to make investments in rural infrastructure.

This primarily includes rural roads, bridges and drainage, as well as affordable energy, reliable high speed internet access and better mobile connectivity. We also, however, focus on what we call social infrastructure – schools, community services, and yes, healthcare. These are all services that people and businesses rely on when they decide where to make investments and build their lives.

As much as we rely on government to take action in these areas, however, I also believe that as farmers and rural communities, we have a role to play in helping to solve these challenges and be proactive in coming to the table with solutions.

That’s why I was thrilled to participate in hosting a group of medical students on our family farm recently and help give them an understanding of what Ontario agriculture is about.

This was part of a program called Discovery Week, a mandatory one-week placement at the end of the first year for all undergraduate medical students at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London.

The students are placed in more than 60 rural and regional communities in Southwestern Ontario where they shadow physicians and healthcare professionals to learn about their work life, network with various rural healthcare teams, and experience living in communities in the region.

With less than two percent of our population involved in agriculture, it’s not likely that most medical students will have any familiarity with farming, and yet, our sector is a major component of rural life and the rural economy.

These tour opportunities give the students a chance to learn about what we do, including the types of injuries or accidents related to working with farm equipment or livestock, for example, that they might be exposed to in a rural practice.

It’s also a chance for those of us who live in rural Ontario to highlight the positive aspects and benefits of what life here can offer and the difference rural medical practitioners can make in our communities and in our lives.

This program has been in place since 1998, and it was in the early 2000s that the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture took the initiative to begin hosting these students for what started as a half day and is now a full-day tour of agriculture in the area.

After some behind the scenes work by OFA staff, this year marked the first year that medical students were also hosted on agricultural tours in Elgin, Oxford and Grey counties by the local federations of agriculture in those areas – and we’re hopeful that this initiative will continue to expand.

Rural healthcare has long been a priority for OFA members, and several of our local federations – such as Algoma for example – have brought resolutions on the issue to our annual general meeting, where they’ve been supported by delegates.

It was exciting for me to be part of the tour this year for the first time, and I look forward to being part of it again in future years if the opportunity arises.

I’m also proud of the foresight the Bruce County federation showed more than 20 years ago to start this wonderful initiative – and of the willingness of local federations of agriculture in other communities to join us in shining a spotlight on Ontario’s farming and rural life.

 

 

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