JFAO | Home

Volunteers Needed

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:27:30 +0000

Farm & Food Care Ontario presents....

Breakfast on the Farm

AND they are looking for volunteers!

Click on the logo to read volunteer descriptions and follow instructions to sign up.

New Farmer Barriers Study Results Announced

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:37:57 +0000

JFAO would like to thank the Canadian Agriculture Adaptation Council for funding and the supporters involved to complete the Barriers to Entry for New Farmers study. The results have been published on Farms.com. Click here to view the results.

OYFF Coordinator Job Posting

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 01:16:10 +0000

Ontario Young Farmers’ Forum Coordinator

Reporting to the Past President and working closely with the Ontario Young Farmers’ Forum (OYFF), the incumbent will be responsible for all aspects of the forum for 2013.

This position will support JFAO throughout the planning process and implementation of OYFF. This is a contract position of one year commencing June 1^st 2013 and completed on or before May 31^st 2014.

Specific duties:

Support the OYFF Chairperson and organizing committee in hosting a successful event.
Work with the committee via teleconference/online communication/in-person meetings to prepare the conference schedule
Research funding opportunities and prepare grant applications
Liaise with OFA Convention Convenor & hotel staff to arrange room bookings, food, & all other event logistics.
Prepare marketing & media materials to recruit sponsors and event participants.
Assist the committee in updating the forum budget for approval at the summer meeting of the JFAO board of directors
Provide regular updates to the OYFF committee, OFA, and JFAO executive/board.
Compile evaluations and make recommendations for the following OYFF.
Ensure all necessary reports are completed post event and submitted
Understand requirements laid out in the JFAO Constitution and Policies.

Resume to be received by pastpresident@jfao.on.ca no later than April 19^th 2013.

Special Event Program Assistant Job Posting

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:30:28 +0000

Special Events Program Assistant

30 hours per week for 10 weeks.

Starting salary: $12/hour. This position will support JFAO through the summer with program and event preparation, execution, and post-event wrap-up, ensuring all requirements are completed in a timely and organized fashion. It may include researching, designing and assisting with the preparation of marketing, sponsorship, and registration materials, as well as other office duties, including database record entry. Familiarity with Microsoft Office 2007 including Access and Publisher would be an asset. This position is subject to grant approval.

Deadline to apply – April 19^th 2013, resume to be emailed to pastpresident@jfao.on.ca.

For more details about this job, visit: http://www.jfao.on.ca/news/news-jf/special-event-program-assistant-job-posting

JFAO 2012 Annual Report

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 02:54:21 +0000

The 2012 Annual Report is now online! Click on the image below to download and read it.

2013-14 JFAO Executive

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:16:55 +0000

Congratulations to the 2013-14 JFAO Executive!

President - Doug Skinner
Past President - Sarah Found
Finance - Erich Weber
Membership - Alex Mitchell
Marketing - Claire Johnston
CIP - Tricia Staples
Fund Development - Sara Jibb
Ag Programs - Jessica Burgess
Social Rep (new position in 2012) - April English
4-H Rep - Victoria Kyle
OFA Rep - Mitch Morawetz

Pictured from L to R Back Row: Tricia Staples, Sara Jibb, Alex Mitchell, Claire Johnston, Jessica Burgess

Front Row: Sarah Found, Doug Skinner

JFAO Congratulates Ontario Agriculture Hall of Fame Inductees

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:58:07 +0000

THREE OUTSTANDING LEADERS SELECTED FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ONTARIO AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME

Milton, February 12, 2013. In its thirty-fourth year, the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association will induct three leaders into the Hall of Fame Gallery at Country Heritage Park in Milton on Sunday June 9, 2013. To qualify for this prestigious recognition, Inductees must have demonstrated visionary leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship in the advancement of agriculture in Ontario. They will have left a lasting legacy for the benefit of future generations.

Inductees for 2013 are:

Arthur Bennett, Bayfield, Ontario (1924 - ). Art Bennett’s lasting legacy in rural Ontario was centered in two areas: in leadership training and development and in farm management training.

He began his career as assistant/associate Agricultural Representative in Waterloo, Halton and Peel Counties. He was promoted to Supervisor of Junior Extension, becoming Secretary/Treasurer of the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario, and for eight years he ran the Provincial Junior Farmers’ Leadership Camp, held in Geneva Park each September. In 1966, he was made Director of Extension for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. Throughout this leadership training component of his career, Art developed the leadership skills of hundreds of Junior Farmers, and this Youth Extension Team became the Ministry’s “Leadership Training Specialists”. These young people would then return to their rural communities and organizations to pass on their new leadership skills. Among the Junior Farmer Campers trained by Art were Lyle Vanclief, Noble Villeneuve and Murray Gaunt.

As Supervisor of Junior Extension, Art also encouraged the growth of the numbers of volunteer 4-H leaders and established training programs for them, as well as providing effective teaching materials to facilitate their jobs. As a result, the 4-H Agricultural Club Program in Ontario expanded significantly. Art promoted Agricultural Engineers as Provincial Specialists in specific subject areas and ensured their skill levels were compensated fairly. Art Bennett recognized the valuable work being done by the secretaries in each of the 54 District Agricultural Extension Offices and so he changed their titles to Office Managers, increased their active involvement in the development of Extension programs and policies, and adequately rewarded them for their roles in maintaining effective, efficient extension offices. Art was also responsible for recruiting the first female Assistant Agricultural Representatives, and for appointing the first female Agricultural Representatives.

As the Director of Extension, Art made important recommendations to a report commissioned by Everett Biggs, Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the mid 1960’s, called the “Challenge of Abundance”.

This report was meant to review the future of agriculture in Ontario and to examine the future roles and programs in Farm Management which would be needed by Ontario farmers. Art Bennett recommended that Farm Management should remain a priority program for the Extension Branch of the Ministry and should include financial management, farm business management, and farm family business agreements such as partnerships and corporations. Subsequent to the Report, Art played a key role in ensuring that Ag Reps received specialized training in these areas and that farm financial management short courses and farm family business agreement mentoring were organized for Ontario farmers in every district. He was the mentor to the staff as these programs were established, as well as the liaison with the Ministry and he made sure the resources existed to do the training well.

In 1997, Ontario closed all 54 Extension Offices and eliminated Agricultural Extension throughout Ontario. However, farmers continued to recognize the need for farm management expertise and training in a sector constantly challenged by new technologies, opportunities and competition. Recently, the Agricultural Management Institute (AMI) was established under Growing Forward, and this will go some way to help maintain Art Bennett’s important legacy in Farm Management Extension.

The Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame welcomes Mr. Art Bennett.

2013 Sponsored by the Junior Farmers’ Association of Ontario

Most Creative New Event Contest

webmaster@jfao.on.ca (JFAO) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 04:17:38 +0000

ATTENTION ALL JUNIOR FARMERS MEMBERS!

Want to win FREE Registration

for Autumn Profile 2013??

Enter your club to WIN!

(1 team free or 2 teams at 50% off the early bird rate)

“MOST CREATIVE NEW EVENT CONTEST"