4-H celebrates 100 years of teaching teamwork, motivation and leadership

Monday, April 6, 2015

With almost 6,000 members across Ontario, this venerable but beloved organization is increasingly finding members from non-farm families and urban areas

by MIKE BEAUDIN

Jennifer Christie started down the path to becoming one of the 100 most powerful women in Canada when she was a toddler watching her parents hold 4-H meetings in the living room of their Bruce County farmhouse.

She joined the 4-H calf club at age 10, went on to become a leader and embarked on a career in agriculture that led to the prestigious award in 2013. Christie was selected for her role in establishing a women's agri-business network in Southern Ontario, co-founding the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation and her contributions to 4-H. She has an MBA from the Ivey Business School and works for John Deere as an area sales representative.

"I started at age 10 and never left 4-H," says Christie, 32, who is a national director of the youth organization.

Like many people in agriculture, Christie credits the values and leadership skills she learned at 4-H for her success. As 4-H Ontario celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, the organization continues to play an important role as a stepping stone to careers in all sectors of agriculture.

"An employer can still pick a 4-H member out of a group of interested candidates because they immediately show poise and self-confidence," says Christie. "It's a huge asset for a young person to have going into agriculture."

Many in the agriculture community look to 4-H as a way to keep young people on the family farm or to develop a career interest in the expanding agri-food industry.

John den Haan, a dairy farmer and owner of Sheldon Creek Dairy in Simcoe County, has been involved in 4-H for the past 30 years, first as a youth member, then a leader and now serves as a past president of 4-H Ontario. He says 4-H is the major reason his four grown children are all involved in agriculture and plan to carry on running the family farm.

"4-H has been good to us. I can't say enough about the program," says den Haan, sipping coffee from a 4-H mug in the kitchen of his farmhouse, a 4-H calendar on the wall and a 4-H ball cap perched on his head.

Times have changed since den Haan was a 4-H youngster. With the number of family farms declining in Ontario, 4-H no longer relies on the farm community for its members.  Of the 5,780 4-H members in Ontario, 41 per cent are from rural, non-farm homes compared to 37 per cent from farms.

The program is expanding into more urban areas. There are even 4-H clubs now starting up in some colleges and universities made up of young people who have an interest in agriculture but don't come from a farm.

The programs have also adapted to reflect the changing membership. Although dairy, beef, sheep and horse projects are still the most popular programs, some clubs offer rocket building, digital photography, career development, and even paintball.

"4-H is a conduit to agriculture for people who have no roots in rural Ontario or farming," says Christie. 'We're piquing their interest in agriculture. We really focus on leadership and on how we can help as many young people as we can."

Stephanie Craig grew up in a 4-H family on a Holstein farm outside Arthur, Ont.  After high school, she left the farm and had no desire to return to a rural lifestyle.

She thought about a career in fashion design, but decided to combine the communications skills she learned while studying fashion at Ryerson University with her roots in agriculture.  She now works as a communications manager in the Dean's office at the University of Guelph.

Craig says 4-H taught her teamwork, motivation, leadership and critical thinking, skills critical to her career success.

"4-H has a role in enabling young people to explore options in an industry not accessible to them," says Craig. "It's not all production and cropping and working with animals. The majority of jobs are in other parts of the (agriculture) value chain."

With one in five 4-H members going on to work in some part of the agriculture sector, den Haan says it's important 4-H celebrates its past achievements while finding ways to sustain itself and agriculture into the future.

He says 4-H will continue to do its part in developing careers in agriculture as long as the organization stays true to its philosophy: "Learn to Do by Doing." BF