Greetings,
As 2020 comes to a close, the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) board & staff would like to thank our membership, funding partners, applicants and stakeholders we have worked with over the past year. It has been a year of adapting to working from home, hosting virtual meetings, and ensuring we continue to address the needs of our clients and day-to-day operations.
This year marks a milestone for AAC as we celebrate our 25th anniversary. At our virtual AGM, on December 3, we looked back on our history and updated the AAC membership on the activities from the past year. While the AAC board and staff always look forward to networking with the industry at the AGM, we hope next year’s event will see us all back together again.
In this month’s newsletter, we are sharing some of the highlights from the AGM, including our newly elected board and executive committee. Over the past 25 years, AAC has delivered over 30 different funding programs and worked with applicants from across Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food industry. In the upcoming weeks, we will be sharing stories about some of those applicants and their impactful projects. In this newsletter, we are featuring the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. They led one of the first projects funded through AAC, the Environmental Farm Plan, a program that is still going strong today. Keep an eye on our @adaptcouncil Twitter account for more these stories and 25 year highlights.
We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season and all the best in the New Year!
Sincerely,
Chris Hiemstra, AAC Chair
Terry Thompson, AAC Executive Director
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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING |
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For the past 25 years the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) has been an industry-led organization focused on funding programs that stimulate growth and opportunity for Ontario's agriculture and agri-food industry.
On December 3, 2020, the AAC membership, board and staff met virtually for our annual general meeting (AGM) to celebrate 25 years.
At the AGM, the AAC membership elected the following individuals to serve on the 2020-2021 AAC board of directors. And at the inaugural board meeting, following the AGM, the new board elected the 2020-2021 executive committee, as noted below.
- Chair: Chris Hiemstra, Other Industries/Commodity Groups
- Vice Chair: Ed Scharringa, General Farm Interest
- Treasurer: Dennis Fischer, Livestock
- Secretary: Sara Wood, Youth-at-Large
- Doug Alexander, Agri-business/Retail/Food Processor
- Peggy Brekveld, General Farm Interest
- Keith Black, Grains/Seeds/Oilseeds/Specialty Crops
- Ray Duc, Horticulture
- Joe Hill, Livestock
- Cor Kaptyn, Supply Management
- Ruth Knight, Other Organizations
- Jamie Payton, Grains/Seeds/Oilseeds/Specialty Crops
- Mark Wales, Horticulture
- Henry Wydeven, Supply Management
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OFA A LONG-TIME CHAMPION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE FOR FARMERS
Programs delivered by Adaptation Council helped advance farm environmental stewardship
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Twenty-five years ago, Ontario farm leaders came together to form a not-for-profit organization to deliver funding programs for projects and research for the agriculture sector in the province. That organization was the Agricultural Adaption Council (AAC), which is marking its 25th anniversary this year, and one of its early mandates was to support environmental initiatives.
From the beginning, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) spearheaded a variety of environment-related projects with broad benefit across the entire sector as lead applicant on behalf of the industry and continues to do so to this day.
“For farmers, focusing on the environment is all about getting the best productivity out of your land today and knowing that in 100 years, people will still be able to do that,” says OFA General Manager Cathy Lennon. “Environmental issues impact every single commodity that is produced in the province from beekeeping and maple syrup to cash crop and livestock, and as the full umbrella organization for all commodities, it makes sense to have OFA lead these types of projects.”
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