By Maaike Campbell, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Farming has been part of my life for as long as I can remember — across countries, commodities, and generations. I was born in the Netherlands and came to Canada with my parents in the early 1990s. Like many farm kids, I grew up with chores, long days, and a front-row seat to the realities of producing food. That upbringing shaped who I am, and it’s also what pushed me to speak up for farmers and rural communities.
It’s what motivated me to become a board director with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ontario’s largest and strongest voice for farmers.
As hog farmers, my husband and I lived the highs and lows of the pork sector – market swings, disease pressures, labour challenges, and everything in between. Those years taught me resilience, humility, and how deeply connected our farms are to global forces beyond our control.
Today, we raise broiler chickens and grow crops on our farm in Lambton County about half an hour from Sarnia and are slowly building a small beef herd as our children are becoming involved in 4-H and cattle showing.
Alongside farming, I’ve always been drawn to the people and policy side of agriculture and being active with the organizations within the agriculture sector. Those opportunities have reinforced something I strongly believe: if you want drive change, you have to be willing to be part of it. I care deeply about the future of farming in Ontario, and standing on the sidelines doesn’t help move the needle; showing up does.
There are two issues I’m especially passionate about that affect farmers directly, but by extension, also impact Ontarians right across our province.
The first is the availability of veterinary services for farmers. Although I live in a relatively well populated agricultural region, we don’t have reliable access to a veterinary clinic that specializes in large animals and livestock.
That’s a problem for animal welfare, farm businesses and our food system, and it’s an issue that has been a priority for OFA for more than two decades. That’s why it’s been nice to see some encouraging steps forward by both the provincial government and industry recently.
This includes modernizing the Veterinary Professionals Act, supporting a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program partnership between University of Guelph and Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and providing funding for a new Veterinary Incentive Program that provides grants to new veterinarians setting up practices in underserviced communities.
This past year, OFA expanded its scholarship program to introduce a new category for veterinary students, and thanks to the generosity of the livestock industry, all nine applicants received financial awards.
The second issue I am passionate about is the need for rural infrastructure investment. If Ontario wants to remain competitive at home and globally, farms and businesses need the basics to move products efficiently and operate safely.
That includes reliable rail service, consistent access to affordable energy like natural gas, and well-maintained rural roads and bridges that let us get our products off our farms and to market. High speed internet service has also become both a business and life necessity – and mobile dead zones are still common in rural areas.
We know that progress is happening, but gaps remain that limit the potential of our sector to support jobs, economic activity and rural growth. Encouraging support for rural physical and social infrastructure, like hospitals, schools and long-term care, has also long been a priority for OFA.
No single organization can tackle these types of issues alone, which is why partnerships matter. OFA puts a lot of effort into working with others both inside and outside of our sector and as a director, that’s something I am keen to see continue – and make sure our members know about. The more we work together, the more meaningful and impactful our outcomes will be.
For Ontarians outside agriculture, my message is simple: as farmers, we care deeply about the food we produce and how we produce it. That means following strict rules that let us produce more with fewer resources and less environmental impact. Our food is safe and nutritious and that’s something all of us can be proud of.
For more information, contact:
Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-994-2578
[email protected]