Ontario agriculture sage recognized

by MATT MCINTOSH

Fifty years of dedication to Ontario agriculture has earned Terry Daynard, a Guelph area farmer, the Farm and Food Care Champion award.

“I was overwhelmed and humbled by it,” says Daynard. “I’m very grateful for the award.”

Contributed photo: Bruce Christie (left) of Farm & Food Care Ontario presents the annual Champion award to Terry Daynard.

Daynard currently operates a small cash crop farm outside Guelph, but has served as a professor and assistant dean for the Ontario Agricultural College, as well as, for almost 20 years, the Ontario Corn Producers Association’s chief of staff. According to a press release published by Farm and Food Care on April 16, the annual award is given to individuals, organizations, and businesses that have “helped to inform the public and the agri-food industry about animal agriculture.”

In the press release, Gord Surgeoner, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, says Daynard played a crucial role in developing the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan. He also credits Daynard with having a hand in writing the Our Farm Environmental Agenda.

“The Our Farm Environmental Agenda came about in the early 1990s when a number of groups were looking at farming and environmental issues” says Daynard. “A lot of things grew out of the agenda.”

More recently, the press release says, Daynard has started writing an online blog and has entered the world of Twitter.

“He has done much to communicate the value of scientifically-based technologies when used properly and fostered many discussions on sustainability for the future,” says Surgeoner in the press release.

Daynard was nominated for the award by Ontario Agri-Food Technologies, and it was presented to him at Farm and Food Care’s annual meeting on April 16. BF