Sara Wood is the Vice President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA):
Canada is in the midst of a generational shift as more and more Canadians reach retirement age and younger generations are moving into leadership roles.
Things are no different in Canada’s farming sector, where both farm businesses and farm organizations are seeing younger people step forward into positions of ownership, leadership and management.
I farm west of Stratford in southwestern Ontario with my husband on a farm I’ve taken over from my mother, who has transitioned from principal decision-maker to our advisor.
I’m also a Vice President with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), an advocacy organization that works on behalf of approximately 38,000 farm families across Ontario to represents their needs to government, the general public or other stakeholders.
My fellow executive members and I are very reflective of the generational shift in agriculture – all of us are transition-farming with multiple generations of family on the farm so we know first-hand how valuable it is to give young people hands-on experiences that will prepare them for future leadership roles.
Every year, the OFA organizes an advocacy day at Queen’s Park where we meet with elected officials to discuss the issues facing the agriculture sector and the opportunities we can offer to support provincial goals in growth, housing, food security, healthcare and more.
For the last five years, that advocacy day has included not just OFA board members, but also up and coming young leaders from our county and regional federations across Ontario as part of our efforts to develop and encourage the next generation of leaders for our organization.
Before joining the OFA board, I was part of the very first cohort of young leaders participating in advocacy day in 2019. It was a tremendous opportunity for me to get a better understanding of how government works and how to interact with different stakeholders.
On OFA’s provincial board today, three of us have progressed through the emerging leader program which was instrumental in helping us make our commitment of time and energy to this organization.
This year, five progressive young farmers who are already active leaders in their local federations were part of our advocacy day in April. We also invited young leaders to join us at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual conference this past February.
At Queen’s Park, they were part of our meetings with elected officials, where they provided their perspectives on what it means to be a young person contemplating a future in the agriculture industry, and how society’s current challenges – from affordability to infrastructure and more – are impacting their plans and goals.
For their part, the politicians we met with welcomed the prospect of meeting with young farmers and what the future of this vitally important sector of Ontario’s economy can offer.
Derek Van De Walle is one of those emerging leaders. A dairy farmer and large animal veterinarian who enjoys playing competitive sports and helping out with local 4-H clubs, he’s also the newly elected president of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture.
He participated in the program to get a better understanding of effective advocacy and as a face and voice for the future of the sector, connect with others who share his passion for agriculture. He loved the opportunity to get a birds-eye view of the government relations process and the day reinforced to him the importance of food and farming – even those furthest removed from the farm still have to eat.
The program offers valuable experiences and insights to all participants that they can take home and apply to advocacy efforts in their local areas even if they don’t move up to a provincial leadership role.
The OFA is a grassroots organization and building depth throughout our network strengthens the collective voice of farmers across the province and prepares us for future leadership transition.
