The first day of business at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) 2014 Annual General Meeting – Growing Ontario featured a full slate of speakers, presentations, interactive workshop sessions and elections, including the appointment of a new OFA president.
Delegates of the 2014 OFA Annual General Meeting elected Don McCabe to serve as the new President of OFA for the coming year. McCabe is a Lambton-area farmer and long-time board member who most recently served as vice president.
The AGM officially commenced Monday, November 24, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. with a call to order followed by opening remarks from Sue-Ann Staff, Niagara Region Proprietor and Winemaker.
In the election of two Director at Large positions, delegates voted Peggy Brekveld to the position for a three-year term and Pat Jilesen to the post for a two-year term.
Monday’s session provided OFA delegates an opportunity to hear from a diverse group of speakers, which was highlighted by Kelly Daynard, Farm & Food Care, Humphrey Banack, 1st Vice President, Canadian Federation of Agriculture and keynote speaker Aron Gampel, Scotiabank Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, who discussed global growth, inflation and risk. Delegates also had the opportunity to participate in workshop sessions on finance, farm programs, research updates and young farmer mentoring.
The day concluded with an address from Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, who walked through OFA’s six key priorities for Growing Ontario. Minister Leal spoke about farmland preservation, natural gas expansion, food literacy, climate change, invasive species and trespassing enforcements.
Stay connected with all the latest updates by following @OntarioFarms on Twitter and join the conversation using the hashtag #OFAgm14.
For those who are unable to attend the AGM, you can watch and listen online with the live video and audio only feeds on the OFA website. For a full agenda and event details, please click here.