4 The Business of Ontario Agriculture Better Farming | November 2023 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR OFA’S REVIVE FUND; AGM IS THIS MONTH An Emily Cro feature this month looks at some interesting countylevel projects that have come out of the OFA’s Revive Fund, which began in 2020 as a COVID initiative. e article begins on Page 18 and o ers insight into Perth County’s Mystery Farm Hop, Niagara’s Road Safety Project, and the London Children’s Museum Exhibit in Middlesex. e county federations designed projects that educated the public and urban populations about farming, addressed farm safety concerns, and improved their local community. And OFA VP Drew Spoelstra says the fund has been renewed for 2024. e OFA’s annual general meeting returns to Toronto later this month, with some solid topics on the agenda. Workshop topics for the Nov. 21 and 22 event include Deadstock, Innovation in Agriculture, Land Use Planning, and Government Relations. Guest speakers planning to visit the Delta Toronto Airport & Conference Centre are senator Rob Black, Ontario agriculture minister Lisa ompson, John Vanthof, MPP, Timiskaming-Cochrane and critic, Agriculture, Food and Rural A airs, Kelly Dobson, president, LeaderShi Inc. (“Unleashing the Untapped Potential of your Farm Operation”), and David Phillips from Environment Canada. Tyler Brooks, the OFA’s director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, says “we are eagerly looking forward to hosting farmers, industry partners and stakeholders at the AGM. “It’s an opportunity to collaborate and share insights, discuss emerging priorities and re ect on our past successes. “We have a full lineup of exciting guest speakers, and we are excited to engage with our delegates as we work together to drive positive change for the organization, the community and agri-food sector across Ontario.” Rob Black, Senator for Ontario, recently tabled and spoke to his Inquiry in the Senate of Canada regarding landuse in Canada. We are grateful that Black, as Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, formally acknowledged that urban sprawl and land-use planning is adding to the degradation of farmlands and contributing to the loss of prime agricultural land across the country. Paul Nolan Blue Mountains hosted Open Farms in September for locals to explore the agriculture industry. The tour stops included a beef farm, Silver Springs Farms (pictured), as well as orchards, vineyards, and farm markets. Emily Croft photo 1-888-248-4893 90 Woodlawn Road West Guelph, ON N1H 1B2 PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR PAUL NOLAN ext 202 Paul.Nolan@Farms.com ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR LESLIE STEWART ext 265 Leslie.Stewart@Farms.com AGRICULTURAL JOURNALIST EMILY CROFT CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS EDITION MOE AGOSTINO CAMPBELL CORK DALE COWAN ABHINESH GOPAL PAUL HERMANS RICHARD KAMCHEN PATRICK LYNCH RALPH WINFIELD ADVERTISING TEAM GLENN RUEGG JEFF McKEE JENNY LONGSTREET SCOTT FARHOOD SAMANTHA RENAUD JOAN SPIEGELBERG DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM TANYA MYERS GREG MARLOW SHAUN CLARK ANDREA WILLIAMS www.BetterFarming.com Better Farming magazine is mailed as a member-bene t to all farmer members of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. If you are not an OFA member, subscribe at: 1-888-248-4893 ext 281 Subscriptions@BetterFarming.com ISSN 1498-9344 (Printed) Canadian one-year subscriptions: $41 (11 issues; includes $4.72 HST). Two-year: $74 ($8.51 HST). U.S. subscriptions: $72 annually. International: $121. Single-copy back issues are $12. GST Registration #868959347RT0001 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to AgMedia Inc., 90 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph, ON N1H 1B2. Publications Mail Registration #1156. Publications Mail Agreement #40037298. Copyright ©2023 by AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any content without written permission of the publisher is forbidden. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, its products or services, nor do Better Farming, AgMedia or Farms.com endorse any advertiser claims. The publisher shall have no liability for the omission of any scheduled advertising. Follow us on Twitter @BetterFarmingON We acknowledge the nancial support of the Government of Canada. Cover: Creative Inspirations photo; Jodie Aldred photo
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