For immediate release
GUELPH ON [November 22, 2023] – Ontario Federation of Agriculture President Peggy Brekveld has stepped down after leading the organization for the past three years. Brekveld is also not seeking re-election as a director on the board of the province’s largest farm organization.
“It’s been an honour to serve as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture these past three years, and I’m very proud of what this organization has been able to accomplish during this time,” says Brekveld. “Most of all, I’m both proud and humbled by the trust Ontario’s farmers have placed in me and of being chosen by my peers to lead this organization.”
The OFA board will elect a new president and new executive members at its first board meeting following the annual general meeting, which was held over the past two days in Toronto.
Brekveld first joined the OFA as a director representing farmers in the northern Ontario regions of Algoma, Cochrane, Dryden, Kenora, Manitoulin-North Shore, Nipissing East & West, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury East & West, Temiskaming and Thunder Bay, before becoming a director-at-large on the board.
She held the role of OFA Vice President from 2014 to 2020, and in 2020, was elected as the OFA’s 32nd president and third woman to lead the organization.
In 2021, Brekveld, a graduate of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program, was named one of Canada’s most influential women in agriculture. She is currently the Chair of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, Chair of the Presidents’ Council, Vice Chair of the Agricultural Adaptation Council and a director with Canlead Solutions.
Together with her husband Gert, she owns Woodstar Farm, a 75-cow dairy farm in Murillo, near Thunder Bay, where they also grow canola, wheat and barley.
“I became president during a global pandemic, which brought tremendous change and challenge for all of us on many levels. As farmers and food producers, for example, we were on the frontlines of ensuring food security for Ontarians,” Brekveld adds. “As an organization, we were pushed to do many things differently, from how we conduct the business of the organization to finding new ways to interact with our members, government, and industry partners.”
Click here to watch A Tribute to Retiring President Peggy Brekveld
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 38,000 farm families across the province and serving as the leading advocate and strongest voice of Ontario’s farmers. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA represents and champions the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more.
For more information, contact:
Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883 ext. 218
tyler.brooks@ofa.on.ca