This year concludes my second term as President of the Lambton Federation of Agriculture. It seems that this was a much busier year for farmers with the late planting, drawn out summer and late harvest this fall. Combined with a Federal and Provincial election it didn’t seem that we made the progress this year that we were hoping to. All was not a loss though. The LFA has made great strides in developing its reputation as the leading voice for agriculture in Lambton County.
I remember in years past we would show up at the Chamber Showcase (hosted by the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce) and people would ask us why we were there and what agriculture had to offer the business community. This year more than ever people recognized us and what we are doing to represent the agriculture industry. We also had several invitations to sit down with Tourism Sarnia Lambton, Samia Lambton Economic Partnership, and S-L Chamber of Commerce. We were also asked to meet with MP Pat Davidson for budget consultations, the City of Samia to help develop their new Official Plan, NextEra Energy for consultation on their proposed Jericho Wind Energy Project and many others.
Earlier this year we sponsored the Green Energy, Agriculture and Bio-Science Career Fair held in Samia. The LFA in conjunction with the OF A put in a booth in order to help educate youths about the career opportunities within agriculture. This year we hosted 4 successful All Candidates meetings (two for each election), we participated in the BDO Farm Tax Seminar held in Alvinston. We also hosted our 3rd annual Locally Lambton Map Tour which is slowly gaining momentum every year. We also hosted a farm tour for the S-L Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Chamber has always been strong supporters of agriculture even though many of them have no farm ties or experience. The Tour was a real eye opener for them as to the scale and technology of farms today.
A few of our members were quite concerned this year that the Lambton County Junior Farmers group had folded. So they partnered with Bryan Boyle and a few young farmers and started the Lambton Young Agriculturalist group. This is an organization where young people can network, have training seminars, debates and farm tours to learn more about farming.
~Kevin Forbes~
President, Lambton Federation of Agriculture