By Tracey Arts, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Strong leadership is a key pillar of success for any organization, business or even government. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is led by farmers who have decided to commit their time for the betterment of the farming sector in our province – whether that’s locally as a grassroots member, at the county or regional level as a director or executive member, or provincially as a board director.
These people are the foundation of the organization’s work on behalf of food and farming in our province. My husband and I are dairy farmers near Thamesford between Woodstock and London, and I’m proud to be one of those leaders as a director on the OFA’s provincial board representing farmers from Oxford and Elgin counties.
When I first became an OFA director, I wanted some additional training to help me feel more comfortable speaking in front of people and thinking on my feet. I was looking for a leadership program that could do that while also focusing on the specific needs and realities of our very diverse industry and helping me learn more about the various sectors of agriculture.
My search led me to the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP), an executive-style training program for a cohort of up to 30 people designed specifically for our sector and my participation in Class 19 turned out to be a terrific experience.
Not only did I gain confidence in public speaking and leading discussions and events, but I’m now part of an ever-growing network of AALP alumni across Ontario.
It was also an amazing opportunity to learn more about agriculture in not just our own province but also North America and internationally through the program’s travel-based curriculum components. This exposure to the diversity of agriculture and differing perspectives is extremely helpful in our work as OFA directors, particularly around government advocacy and public outreach.
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