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In This Issue
- Grain Farmers of Ontario become Platinum members
- Tenth anniversary fundraising campaign underway
- Register for FFCO's tenth anniversary conference April 13
- March 23 Winter Speaker Series: Francis Parisien, NielsenIQ
- Order your Garden in a Box
- Resources to celebrate Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month
- Virtual Food & Farm Field Trip: Maple syrup farm
- Last call for Champion Award 2022 nominees
- Meet a member: Grand River
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Grain Farmers of Ontario become Platinum members
Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) is pleased to welcome Grain Farmers of Ontario to its top category of membership – that of a Platinum Member. Grain Farmers of Ontario has been a supporter of FFCO since its inception in 2012 and the increase from a Gold level membership is a strong show of support of FFCO’s work and role in Ontario agriculture.
Platinum members make up the core and foundation of FFCO’s work. Board members provide leadership and staff at both FFCO and Platinum member organizations work closely together on key issues across the industry, all related to advancing public trust and answering consumer questions about food and farming.
Grain Farmers of Ontario joins FFCO’s six other Platinum members: Beef Farmers of Ontario, Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Egg Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association. Each has representation on the FFCO Board of Directors with annual contributions of between $30,000 and $50,000.
“With the continued spotlight on Ontario agriculture and the need to come together across commodities to build public trust, the work that Farm & Food Care does has never been more important. It is important that we invest and believe in organizations like FFCO who have shown resiliency during this pandemic to continue their advocacy. Grain Farmers of Ontario looks forward to deeper collaboration with Farm & Food Care Ontario and its other members as we help the public understand the care and expertise farmers give to growing their food and providing safe healthy food for everyone,” said Brendan Byrne, Chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario.
Bonnie den Haan, Chair of FFCO, said, “We’re thrilled to have Grain Farmers of Ontario join our exclusive group of Platinum members. Their commitment to FFCO at this level will enable us to do even more related to our mandate of being a reliable source of factual, science-based information about farming and food production in Ontario."
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Tenth anniversary fundraising campaign underway |
This year marks an exciting milestone for Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO). It’s been 10 years since the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC) and Agricultural Groups Concerned about Resources and the Environment (AGCare) merged to create the first FFC organization in Canada.
In celebration of this important occasion, FFCO is inviting members, partners and friends to join in 10th anniversary events and campaigns throughout 2022. Show your support by donating a minimum of $10/month or $100 in 2022 to be part of the10th Anniversary donors' circle. Donations over $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt.
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Register now for FFCO's Annual Conference |
FFCO will be celebrating its 10th anniversary all year long, starting with an annual conference on April 13, 2022. Register now to attend virtually or in person at The GrandWay Events Centre in Elora from 10 am to 4 pm. This year’s theme is "Evolving in a Changing World".
Communications expert and award-winning humourist Bill Carr will address the realities of our new remote workplaces in a presentation titled "Relating Remotely vs. Remotely Relating: The art of Working Remotely in Healthy and Productive Ways."
Fourth generation Ontario dairy farmer Tim May, known on social media as “Farmer Tim”, will speak on “Farming the Fields of Social Media” about his passion for spreading positive messages about farming through social media. He uses humour and his genuine compassion for people and animals to both entertain and educate his over 150,000 followers around the world.
A panel discussion will feature FFCO members whose businesses depend on consumer engagement. They’ll talk COVID impacting their companies, strategies used to deal with change and the innovative and creative ways they have evolved.
The event will also include the presentation of the 2022 Farm & Food Care Champion Award.
Early bird discounted rates last until March 30.
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Confirmed speaker Bill Carr |
Confirmed speaker Tim May |
Annual Business Meeting
FFCO's Annual Business Meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, April 20th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Platinum, Gold and Silver level members will receive a full voting package in the coming weeks.
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Winter Speakers' Series
Farm & Food Care organizations across Canada are again teaming up for a series of webinars that will host leaders from across the food industry sharing their insights and experience on how Canadian food producers are adapting to changing demographics, mindful consumers and unprecedented global events.
On March 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern, the second of two talks in the series is titled Canadian consumer food consumption and grocery trends. Francis Parisien of NielsenIQ, a leading retail and consumer intelligence firm, will explore the trends and forces in Canada driving consumer food consumption and retail food purchasing decisions. Including which retail food categories are growing, which are experiencing decline and what Canadian retailers are doing within the marketplace, while exploring the forces behind the statistics and looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to influence the market.
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Order your 2022 Garden in a Box
If you're making plans for spring, make sure you plan on us!
FFCO’s Garden-in-a-Box project invites gardeners to grow alongside farmers across Ontario to cultivate knowledge sharing and context building between home gardening and agricultural growers across Ontario.
Garden-in-a-Box is for Ontario residents, especially families, students, first-time gardeners, community gardeners, urban agriculture enthusiasts, and passionate hopefuls.
This year, the program is also offering a Patio Pack kit for those with limited space, in addition to the Garden Plot Kit. More information on the box contents is available at the link below.
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March is Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month!
FFCO has resources to help bring agriculture into education: both The Real Dirt on Farming and FarmFood360 virtual tours now have teachers' guides available for you, and the kids and teachers in your life. Both are available online through their websites, and physical copies of The Real Dirt on Farming in the Classroom teachers guides are available to order from FFCO.
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Virtual Farm & Food Field Trip: Snyders' Sugar Bush
Join FFCO as we take a tour with Kevin Snyder at Snyder Heritage Farm through their sugar bush on March 22 at 2pm.
Snyder Heritage Farm, a Farm & Food Care member, is a fifth generation operation, producing maple syrup for over 100 years. The tour will show their efforts to provide the best possible product, through continually improving equipment when new technology becomes available.
Kevin has completed courses with the Environmental Farm Plan, Food Safety and Traceability, and the On Farm Food Safety Program. This education forms an important part of how they produce a high quality product. As of 2018, all the farm's maple syrup is certified organic.
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2021 recipients Sandi Brock and Paul Nairn |
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2022 Champion Award: Last call for nominees |
Until March 11th, FFCO is accepting nominations for its annual Champion Award. The award is presented to individuals, organizations or businesses who have taken initiative to help engage consumers about agriculture in our province. Nominees have used their skills to help inform consumers or correct misinformation about production practices, and done a measurable job of promoting our industry.
Nominations are to be submitted by March 11, 2022. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please review the nomination form.
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Meet a Gold Member: Grand River Agricultural Society
"We at Grand River Agricultural Society (GRAS) have a vision to “Nourish people, animals and the planet” and working with Farm & Food Care Ontario does all three!
Beginning our partnership in 2021, we saw a natural fit in shared values and common goals within the core areas that Farm & Food Care Ontario is looking to make an impact:
1) Farm Animal Care – the “people” and “animals” in Ag
2) Farming and the Environment - taking care of the “planet”
3) Food and Farming Resources- nourishment of body and mind
GRAS was attracted not only to the work of Farm and Food Care Ontario but that at it’s core it embodied the value partnership. As a coalition of agricultural organizations, we saw that Farm and Food Care Ontario as a key connector, looking to bring parties together to strive for success. By leveraging their network, they provide solutions to problems that affected the whole agriculture sector, often in fun, approachable and educational ways.
As a not-for-profit organization, GRAS strives to fulfill our vision through our commitment to innovation, education, economic growth, and community. As owner and operator of the Grand River Raceway, the brand new GrandWay Events Centre, and home to Elements Casino, our team is committed to generating financial surpluses that are reinvested into our scholarships, community mini-grants, partnerships, and impact investing. Since its foundation in Elora, GRAS has contributed over $2 Million through its philanthropic endeavours and we are looking to increase that number significantly in the coming years.
We are excited to continue providing Farm and Food Care Ontario with the financial and in-kind support that will allow them to expand their programming, and help reaffirm their position as the as the go-to experts in Ontario for agriculture industry, and consumer information."
Katie Giddy
VP Operations
Grand River Agricultural Society
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