Junior Farmers celebrate 80 years

IT HAS BEEN 80 YEARS SINCE YOUNG FARMERS FROM ACROSS THE PROVINCE GATHERED AT QUEEN’S PARK ON APRIL 4, 1944, TO FORM THE JUNIOR FARMERS ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO (JFAO). Eight decades later, JFAO continues to “build future rural leaders,” with clubs across the province keeping the association’s legacy alive through community projects, agriculture awareness, international travel, and social activities and events.

HOW IT STARTED

The provincial association started in 1944 – but the Junior Farmer movement started as early as 1914, when 30 young farmers gathered in Woodbridge, Ontario, to take part in a six-week course to “learn the principles upon which everyday farm life are based.” The class formed the first Junior Farmer club; similar clubs formed in Durham, Peel, and Middlesex in the following years. By 1944, the need for better cooperation and coordination of programs for young people in rural Ontario spurred then-Minister of Agriculture Thos L. Kennedy to invite 48 young people to Queen’s Park, where the group unanimously voted to form JFAO. Fourteen members formed the association’s board of directors, and Gordon Orr was elected president, with Howard Laidlaw, Warne Emmott, and Charlotte McCollough rounding out the executive.

With a motto of “Building future rural leaders through self-help and community betterment,” the association eventually grew to include thousands of members in clubs across the province who participated in local projects and activities that supported their rural communities and provincially- sponsored events which brought members together for fun, learning, and socializing, including leadership camps, sporting events, and an annual March Conference.

WOMEN ON BOARD

The first JFAO provincial board of directors included several women, which was uncommon for the time in agricultural organizations. In 1951, Eleanor Vellinga from Norfolk County became the association’s first woman president; more than 25 women have held the role over its 80-year history. One of those women is Jolande Oudshoorn, a member of the Huron-Perth Junior Farmers, who led the organization in 2023 and currently serves as past president.

She explains that while the organization looks much different from its early days, with fewer clubs and a smaller membership, the spirit of Junior Farmers continues in many of the ways that JFAO alumni can relate to – for example, March Conference continues to be a highlight for members, even though it looks a little different now.

While the March Conference still features the annual general meeting and opportunities to learn about leadership and personal development, the event has evolved to meet the interests and needs of current members. “We’ve incorporated bus tours to local farms and agribusinesses,” she explains. “We’re catering to what members want and are interested in.”

Sing Swing (an annual music and dance competition), Winter Games (an annual sporting competition), and Leadership Camp are among the provincial events that endure, while members from the 1990s will remember Autumn Profile, an annual ‘fall fair’-type experience for members that now incorporates elements of an earlier provincial event, Culturama. While the events have evolved over the years, their legacy stretches back to the early years of JFAO, with traditional competitions like square dancing still on the agenda at Sing Swing.

International travel – connecting with like organizations around the world – continues to be a highlight for members, with exchanges to the U.K. and European countries still being offered. JFAO members look forward to hosting international exchange delegates each summer. Oudshoorn is a 2024 exchange delegate to Northern Ireland.

SUPPORTINGLOCAL COMMUNITIES

Locally, Oudshoorn says that clubs are encouraged to try new events and activities that meet the needs of local members.

“If you think of an idea, we’ll support you,” she says.

In Wellington County, Junior Farmer members held trivia nights, went curling, and held a roadside cleanup in 2023 while supporting local agricultural events like the Harriston Fall Fair agricultural awareness tent and ‘Pizza Perfect’ hosted by the Grand River Agricultural Society. Middlesex County Junior Farmers hosted their second annual “Farmers Night Out,” raising $4,225 for rural mental health initiatives. Huron-Perth’s club fundraising efforts led to two butchered hogs donated to their local food bank.

All tallied up, JFAO members across the province raised more than $95,000 for local initiatives in 2023.

BUILDING LEADERS

The 2024 JFAO president, Carson Wagner, a dairy farmer from New Hamburg and an Oxford County Junior Farmers member, says that Junior Farmers has been an integral part of his journey as a leader in rural Ontario. As a member for nine years, he says he got more involved provincially after the Covid-19 pandemic, taking on the role of Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) representative, allowing him to hone his leadership skills with a provincial organization – which encouraged him to take on the role as JFAO president.

Taking those leadership skills with him when he moves on from Junior Farmers (JFAO membership is for young people ages 15- 29), he sees an opportunity to get involved in organizations like OFA, the local dairy producer committee, and to continue with 4H as a leader.

JFAO alumnus Barclay Nap from Wellington County credits Junior Farmers for helping him develop the skills he uses every day as president of the Wellington County Federation of Agriculture and as an owner- operator of a community-shared agriculture business.

“What I learned in Junior Farmers was indispensable,” says Nap, who was a member of Halton Junior Farmers in the early 2000s. Learning how to run effective meetings and lead a board of directors were among the skills that JFAO taught him.

“You need to have order and direction in a meeting, follow parliamentary procedure, have an agenda,” he says. “I cannot put a value on how much I learned about budgeting, something I use not only with OFA but also in my business,” he adds.

HISTORY LIVES ON

After ‘graduating’ from JFAO, Nap continued as a volunteer, helping struggling and new clubs form. A chance encounter with Carm Hamilton, a former JFAO secretary-treasurer and member of the Alumni Archiving Committee, led him to his passion project – collecting, documenting, and digitizing thousands of pieces of JFAO history and memorabilia. His collection includes photos, magazines, club and provincial meeting minutes, and lists of members and directors of clubs across the province. He has also interviewed past JFAO presidents and members to create a ‘living history’ of the organization.

The collected provincial memorabilia and documents have been archived at the University of Guelph, with local archives, museums, and historical societies receiving boxes of local club historical items. •