OFT Welcomes New Executive Director

Jun 30, 2022

Ontario Farmland Trust is pleased to welcome our new Executive Director, Martin Straathof!

Martin’s previous experience is diverse, ranging from agriculture, to non-profit work, and even rural planning. OFT is excited to have him on board, so that he can put his wide range of expertise to work!

Martin grew up on a dairy farm just west of Ottawa in Arnprior, Ontario. He spent much of his childhood helping his family with the chores (of which there are many), and participating in local 4-H clubs. While much of his time on the farm was spent with cows, he does have a particular soft spot for goats. He then pursued an undergraduate degree in International Development (with an emphasis on rural and agricultural development) at the University of Guelph

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Video: Plot Day

Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. We also have a part-time employee, Brock. My dad started the farm in 1980. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.

I hope you enjoy my content and ask questions as you have them. I do my best to answer anything I can. Thanks for watching!

I appreciate you subscribing to my channel and liking my videos. You can also find me on Facebook facebook.com/borderviewfarms and on Instagram @borderviewfarms