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Junior Farmers on the rebound |
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Wednesday, 17 June 2009 20:57 |
Junior Farmers clubs are making a comeback across Ontario following a decade in which they shrunk dramatically and almost disappeared.
At their peak in the 1970s, the clubs boasted a membership of more than 10,000 provincewide and some rural counties had two or three chapters.
But membership, which had been falling due to the downturn in farming, plummeted in the early 2000s after Queen's Park cut funding to the organization and then got rid of the full-time agricultural reps who staffed area ministry offices and helped run the clubs.
Some chapters folded and membership bottomed out at about 400.
Today, there are 500 members, and the organization is on the resurgence, said James McMillan, president of the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario.
"In the last three years, we've seen an increase (in members) every year," said McMillan, who grew up on a dairy farm near Nanticoke and now works as a producer at CH-TV in Hamilton.
"After the government pulled out, we went into survival mode. We're over that. We're doing more now and helping clubs to re-form."
Junior Farmers is essentially a rural service club. Young people aged 15 to 30 -- who include many rural people who don't live or work on farms -- carry out fundraising events, often at agricultural-themed events, and then give the money back to charitable causes.
But the real goal behind the organization, said McMillan, is "to build future rural leaders."
Junior Farmers go on to become municipal councillors or lead other clubs in their communities. Former Liberal MP for Lambton-Middlesex, Ralph Ferguson, who was Canada's agriculture minister in the early 1980s, was a Junior Farmer, McMillan noted.
Some of the bounce-back may also have to do with increasing mechanization of agriculture.
Technology has led to fewer people working farms.
But it has also created more free time for farmers to do other things, said Amy Lindsay, 24, of Selkirk, president of the Haldimand-Norfolk Junior Farmers.
Robotic feeding and milking of dairy cattle allowed her to get involved in Junior Farmers and sit on Haldimand County's agricultural advisory committee after finishing university and returning to her parents' farm, Lindsay said.
The clubs, she added, also help young people become better farmers because members meet people from different parts of Ontario at provincial events and swap tips.
"You can learn something from a farmer from Eastern Ontario you might never have met," said Lindsay, who has a fine arts degree from Nipissing University and paints rural landscapes.
Haldimand-Norfolk's club remains strong.
Its members are responsible for beautifying two stretches of highway in the area -- Highway 3 between Simcoe and Jarvis, and another section on Highway 6 near Hagersville -- where they can be seen collecting garbage out of ditches.
Their two main fundraising events are their pancake breakfast at the Jarvis Cornfest and serving bacon on a bun during the Norfolk County Fair.
On Thursday night, the club handed out $5,000 to nine area charities, including hospitals and community living organizations in both counties.
That's impressive when you consider that Junior Farmers clubs in Ontario together made $50,000 in donations this year.
"We're doing a lot in the community right now, we're having a lot of fun, and we create leaders while doing it," said Thomas Judd, 21, of Simcoe, vice-president of the Haldimand-Norfolk club.
Reprinted from the Simcoe Reformer
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