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In This Issue
  • Breakfast from the Farm: Grand River Raceway, Elora, August 27
  • Inaugural Member Forum meeting
  • Board member update
  • FFCO member anniversary barbecue
  • Tenth anniversary fundraising update
  • Tenth anniversary survey
  • 2022 Farm & Food Care Garden Club update
  • Breakfast from the Farm: Paris photos
  • Welcome new FFCO members
  • Meet a member: Wallenstein Feed
Inaugural Member Forum meeting

On June 3, the inaugural meeting of Farm & Food Care Ontario's (FFCO) Member Forum was held in Guelph.

The FFCO Member Forum helps to guide the organizations work, providing opportunity for input, dialogue and proactive, cross-sector thinking and problem solving on issues affecting the industry. These meetings address both farm animal care and farm environmental issues for members, along with issues related to public trust. Members from FFCO's platinum, gold and silver levels are invited to take part in these meetings three times per year.

At the June meeting, two new co-chairs for the forum were selected: Frank Hoftyzer from the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario and Alice Van Vught from The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group. The Member Forum's co-chairs sit in the FFCO board in an ex-officio capacity.

The inaugural meeting included presentations from Agriculture in the Classroom Canada, the impact of the war in Ukraine on agriculture, and a review of FFCO's public outreach properties and resources. Member updates and current challenges were also shared.
Tenth anniversary fundraising campaign continues
In celebration of its tenth anniversary, FFCO is inviting members, partners and friends to join in anniversary events and campaigns throughout 2022. Show your support by donating a minimum of $10/month or $100 in 2022 to be part of the 10th anniversary donors' circle. Donations over $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt.

Donations support ongoing development of the Real Dirt on Farming and digital resources.

Ways to celebrate with us:

  1. Become a member or renew your individual membership
  2. Donate $10/month for 10 months
  3. Volunteer at a Farm & Food Care Ontario event, like Breakfast from the Farm
  4. Tell your story and help build public trust in food and farming
  5. Host an FFCO speaker or training session in your community
  6. Attend the summer celebration barbecue August 11
  7. Celebrate Ontario Agriculture Week - October 3-9, 2022
  8. Invite a friend to attend the 2022 Gala celebration
Share your memories of FFCO

Take our two question survey and share with us your bests of 10 years of FFCO. Memories will be shared at our 2022 Harvest Gala event on November 17th, 2022 in Guelph.
2022 Farm & Food Care Garden Club update

This summer, grow along with Ontario gardeners by joining the 2022 Farm & Food Care Garden Club on Facebook. Share your farming or garden experiences and learn with gardeners across the province!

This past month, group members learned that not all bugs are bad! Some bugs are good for the garden. These good guys are called “beneficial insects” and they can act as pollinators, decomposers, and predators who prey on crop-damaging insects or are food for someone higher on the food chain.

Gardeners learned that beneficial insects help out on farms too!

Many farms, particularly greenhouses, use “biological control”, which can also be described as using “good bugs to fight bad bugs”. For example, the farmer might use a specific type of predatory mites to hunt down other, crop-damaging mites, or parasitic wasps to attack aphids.

When farmers scout their fields for pests, they also look for signs of high beneficial insect populations too. They might even take action on their farm to promote them, by planting flowering plants at field edges or leaving field borders naturalized to protect key habitats for insects.

Share your on-farm experience with beneficial insects with gardeners today.
FFCO welcomes new Program Manager- Christa Ormiston

Raised on a family farm in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Christa was involved in growing and promoting local food from a young age. Her family's fourth generation mixed farm was also a popular farm market, butcher shop and bakery.

Christa brings a lifelong passion for agriculture and has spent her career focused on agricultural communications and marketing. She has spent a combined 20 years with the marketing team at EastGen and its predecessor companies and most recently held the role of Digital Specialist with Semex. She looks forward to inspiring those working in agriculture and growing our food to stand up and be proud of the work they do, putting a face to farming.

Christa recently joined the team at Farm & Food Care Ontario as Program Manager. She is also a Director and Leader for Wellington County 4-H, Chair of the Eramosa Public School Advisory Council, and a proud community volunteer. She lives in rural Wellington County with her husband and three children.

Christa can be reached christa@farmfoodcare.org.
Breakfast from the Farm: Paris
More than 70 volunteers and 500 guests came out to Breakfast from the Farm at Paris Fairgrounds on June 4th in celebration of Local Food Week.  
 
Guests enjoyed a walking tour of the Paris Fairgrounds with exhibits, displays, livestock and farm equipment. Volunteers shared their stories and experience farming in Ontario and answered guest questions. 
FFCO welcomes new members
At the June 14 board meeting, the following new members were approved:
Supporter Level Members:
Silverdale Poultry
Agri-Nutrient Solutions   
Mayhaven Farms Ltd.
Willholme Farms
Perth & District Agricultural Society
Joe Loewith & Sons
Paisley Agricultural Society
Renfrew Agvocates
Ontario Milk Transporters Association
Porquis Agricultural Society
Halton Agricultural Society     
Thorndale Agricultural Society
Individual members:
Roger Harrop                
Wilfred Arndt                      
Fergus Agricultural Society
Dianne McComb         
Mark Hamel                         
Bruce Hudson                    
Sandra Lastovic            
Jerome Mailloux                
Rebecca Hannam  
Robert Scott
Meet a member: Wallenstein Feed & Supply
Wallenstein Feed & Supply's Rick Martin, shakes FFCO Executive Director Kelly Daynard's hand, while Board Member Brian Gilroy looks on, in this photo from 2017.
"Wallenstein Feed & Supply (WFS) has been a loyal supporter and member of Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) for as long as the organization has existed. The FFCO mission to work with Ontario farmers and food partners to earn public trust in Ontario food and farming is one that we are proud to help them champion.

Agriculture is not just an industry; it is a community. As a strong member of the agricultural community in Ontario, we have enjoyed working with FFCO on their various events and initiatives, such as Breakfast from the Farm, FarmFood360, and The Real Dirt on Farming. Our employees enjoy attending the annual Harvest Gala in support of FFCO, and recent fundraisers like Garden in a Box have also been well received.

The WFS motto is “Feeding Success”, and by supporting organizations such as FFCO, we are feeding our customers’ success by not only investing in them, but in their customer base as well. Our customers have an exciting story of hard work, passion, and dedication to share with urban consumers, who every single day get further and further removed from agriculture and farming. FFCO ensures their stories are heard.

It has been a pleasure to partner with Farm & Food Care Ontario for the past decade. We look forward to a strong, continued partnership for years to come."