OFA announces Proud to Farm photo contest winners

GUELPH, ON – Ontario farmers shared their pride in their farms and the agri-food industry with more than 450 photos submitted as part of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) Proud to Farm photo contest. Winning entries were recently unveiled at the OFA’s 2018 annual meeting in Hamilton in three categories – Proud to Farm, Farm Animals and Ontario Farm Scenes.

 

Morgan Murphy of Lambton won 1st place in the Proud to Farm category and the Farmers’ Choice Award, based on member voting online and at the 2018 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show. Morgan receives a drone and a cash prize for these wins. Gerda VandenHoven of Perth placed 2nd and Madeleine Beaudry of West Nipissing-Sudbury placed 3rd in the Proud to Farm category.

 

Winners in the Farm Animals category are: 1st place to Kendal Doerksen of Norfolk, 2nd place to Josianne Grenier of Cochrane and 3rd place to Josiah Mullet Koop of Niagara North. The Ontario Farm Scenes winners are: 1st place to Kendal Doerksen of Norfolk, 2nd place to Amanda Brown of Brant and 3rd place to Rebecca Haan of Hastings.

 

“There are endless challenges and pressures in agriculture today, and our Proud to Farm photo contest was a way to encourage Ontario farmers to pause for a few moments to look around and capture some of the incredible beauty and pride in our industry,” says Keith Currie, OFA President. “And we had a tremendous response with entries coming from all across the province, and we thank all Ontario farmers who took part.”

 

All contest winners received a cash prize. The Proud to Farm contest was supported by Proud to Lead and Farm Credit Canada. Winning photos are posted at www.ofa.on.ca/photocontest.

 

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 38,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.