42 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | December 2024 When we moved from Toronto back to the Thomson home farm in 1974, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness – then called OMAF – was still providing many extension services to Ontario farm families. They maintained a variety of staff to provide those services. There were ag reps, soil and crop specialists, livestock specialists, engineers, and home economists in most county offices. Some of the support staff covered more than one county. Upon graduating from Macdonald Institute in Guelph, my late wife had accepted the position of home economist with OMAF for Kent and Essex counties. She worked in Chatham. Partly for that circumstance, I accepted a position to teach and do research at the Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology (RCAT). It had previously been the Western Ontario Agricultural School under OMAF, and is now Ridgetown Campus, part of the University of Guelph. Changes in extension services When I worked at Ridgetown College, my colleague Ralph Clayton, an OMAF extension engineer, had two or three summer engineering students every year doing land level surveys. They were providing levelling drawings of farmland. Every summer, many land drainage layout drawings were prepared for local drainage contractors to install systematic drainage systems. He also advised on farm building layouts and many other farmer requests. Agriculture representatives, and their assistants who were in fact trainees, also provided a wide range of advice to farmers and supported many agricultural 4-H clubs. This advice included feeding arrangements, number of cows, and how to brood chickens. Representatives also provided seminars and written materials on a range of topics. Soil and crop specialists provided a wide range of cropping advice to farmers. As time progressed, many of these government services became less essential. Crop input suppliers took over the responsibility for cropping advice. Land drainage contractors with more sophisticated equipment no longer needed OMAF plans. Advisory services that the Ontario government had provided for many years became redundant. As a result of these changes to client needs, county extension offices closed. The extension functions previously provided became the function of input suppliers – the result of livestock and cropping systems becoming much larger. Many of us older folk remember when 40-cow dairy herds were very common. I remember combining the excess acreage of corn on many local dairy farms, when their silos or corn cribs were full. Times and service changes All county-based extension offices have closed. Some special advisory services still exist regionally, but OMAFA staff are now located at places like Ridgetown College. When I worked for Ontario Hydro, agricultural staff also provided a significant amount of extension services to farmers and 4-H clubs. For example, they advised on the use of hydro for dairy herds and poultry brooding. The newer Hydro One supplier no longer provides the extension services that were once provided by Ontario Hydro. The government has stopped providing county extension services that it did for many years. Private product suppliers have taken over the extension services that OMAF provided previously. As is the common procedure, many service providers change over time. Extension services are no exception. What changes will occur in the next 40 years? Your prediction is as good as – or better than – mine. BF What will support for farmers look like in the future? Emily McKinlay photo How it Works EXTENSION SERVICES IN ONTARIO A look back at agricultural advisory changes. By Ralph Winfield RALPH WINFIELD Ralph is a retired professional engineer, farmer and technical writer. He has a BSA, BASc, and an MSA in engineering from the University of Toronto.
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