Nicholas Donaldson
The Rainy River Federation of Agriculture’s revitalization of the Rainy River “Ag Day” has been deemed a success.
RRFA board member Rick Neilson handled the evaluation sheets filled out by guests and was very happy with the results.
He said there was a lot of positive feedback and that people want to see the event happen again.
“People got a lot out of it,” he noted.
“Ag Day” took place Saturday from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Emo Legion, with organizer Lisa Teeple noting about 65 guests signed in.
Speakers gave presentations throughout the day while information booths from local businesses and organizations were set up around the building.
Neilson said the big hits were the talks on barn fire prevention and rethinking the farm business.
He added attendees also were very happy with the opportunities to network throughout the day and the ability to connect to the farming community.
“People also liked the prize draws and free food,” he laughed.
“It was fun reading the comments because everything was so positive,” Neilson added.
He also was very pleased to see a large number of young people attending the event.
During the day, those on hand heard presentations from:
•Ben LeFort, OFA Senior Policy Analyst, who spoke about farm assessment and taxation;
•Andrew Brekveld updated on the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association;
•Kelsey Banks, Ontario Market Specialist for Alltech Canada Inc., spoke about farm business planning and strategy;
•Jacqui Empson Laporte, OMAFRA Environmental Specialist, presented on barn fire prevention;
•Darrell Martindale, environmental manager at New Gold, informed everyone about biological research at the mine and GIS mapping; and
•Geoff Gillon gave district updates with the Rainy River Future Development Corp.
Gary Sliworsky also gave OMAFRA updates while Bernie Zimmerman spoke about his new role as member services representative for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
Neilson said the event has given the RRFA momentum–and he wants to use it to keep people interested and connected in agriculture.
“It builds a sense of community in the farming area,” he remarked.
