22 An update on Grain Farmers of Ontario news and events FROM THE CHAIR A Q&A with Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. In the March 2022 Ontario Grain Farmer, you spoke about the organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training. How are the DEI programs going? DEI is something we are working on weaving into everything we do. This year we welcome our first female directors — Julie Maw from District 3 and Angela Zilke from District 7, and I look forward to hearing from more diverse voices at our board table. We hosted a very successful Women's Grain Symposium in November. We have worked on updating the imagery we use in our promotions to be more diverse, and our hybrid working model is not only more inclusive but is helping us attract amazing new talent. Fundamentally, there is a need for the organization, as leaders, to embrace empathy and think of others, to seek out new voices and experiences to join us and make us stronger, and to ensure everyone has the equal tools and opportunities to succeed. I look forward to this year and how we will build on our successes and learn and grow. • Do you have a question for our chair? Email GrainTALK@gfo.ca. YOUR GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO TEAM Here is our next installment of profiles of your Grain Farmers of Ontario Board of Directors and staff to help introduce you to the team. JULIE MAW, DIRECTOR, DISTRICT 3 (LAMBTON) Julie Maw was elected as director for District 3 (Lambton) in January 2023. She has previously served as a delegate for five years, district treasurer, and on the Grain Farmers of Ontario Research and Innovation committee. Maw looks forward to being a voice for farmers to bring their issues locally and provincially to the table and promoting agriculture to educate consumers about where their food comes from. Sustainability for future farmers is important to Maw, and she looks forward to collaborating with various organizational partnerships to succeed in common goals. Maw’s educational background is in sports management, where she enjoyed working in the OHL and entertainment sectors. After returning home to Lambton, she continued her business career with a financial institution as a business and agriculture lender. Now farming soybeans, corn, and wheat in south Lambton with family, her husband Kyle and their three children, Logan, Emery and Hudson; Maw also owns and operates a Maizex Seeds dealership and provides custom farming work for several local farmers. She thrives on an active lifestyle, taking her sons to minor hockey, lacrosse, and baseball throughout the year. Maw is a 4-H leader in Lambton and enjoys running clubs for children to learn and experience new opportunities. In the fall, she can be found volunteering at the Brigden Fair. She can be found on Twitter @mooremawfarms. ANGELA ZILKE, DIRECTOR, DISTRICT 7 (OXFORD, WATERLOO) Angela Zilke was elected to the position of director of District 7 (Oxford, Waterloo) at their District Meeting in January 2023. She has been involved with the district for 11 years as the administrative assistant and as an alternate delegate in 2022. As a passionate advocate for farmers in her district, as director, Zilke wants to focus on improving communication between farmers and consumers to fight misinformation about agricultural practices. Zilke, who was raised on an Embro, Ontario dairy farm, farms with her husband, Mark, where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, and edible beans on their 400-acre farm in the Embro/Hickson, Ontario area. In partnership with Mark's brothers, the Zilkes manage a total of 4,000 acres of crops. Before her marriage in 1995 and returning to the farm full-time in 1996 to raise her family, Zilke worked in accounting and administration. Angela and Mark are parents to four children: Kate, Matt, Hannah, and Danielle, and grandparents to Oliver, born in 2022. Zilke spends much of her free time refurbishing the farm's farmhouses and barns, including the family's 100-year-old "labour of love" house in the village. SIGN UP TODAY FOR GRAINTALK E-NEWS Get the latest farm news and important Grain Farmers of Ontario updates delivered to your inbox each week! Go online to www.gfo.ca and click on the button to subscribe. •
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